Freeman Walker Compton (January 15, 1824 – May 28, 1893)[1] was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1859 to 1864, again from 1866 to 1868, and again in 1874.
Historian Fay Hempstead described Compton's reputation as a lawyer:
His mind was as strong as his body, but both physically and intellectually, he was singularly slow and lethargic. He was a powerful lawyer when aroused and when he had had time for preparation, but he could do nothing in a hurry, and he could no more be hurried than the pyramids of Egypt. No matter how impatient court or counsel might become, they could make no impression upon him. He could move only at a certain pace, and that a very slow one, and it was useless to try to force him to adopt a more rapid gait. When, however, he was retained in a case of sufficient importance and with a fee that was adequate to his demands, he was a man of extraordinary power. He would not take it up until he was ready, which meant that the delay would be considerable, and he was so large and so inert that no one ever succeeded in hurrying him into a trial. In his own good season he would have the case set down, and then his opponent had to look well to his laurels. By that time he had not merely read the cases bearing upon the subject, but he had thought about it profoundly, and his views were original and bold.[3]
Compton was a loquacious speaker and it took him time to gather his thoughts, but his writing was described as "remarkably terse and clear; never using a superfluous word".[3]
In 1858 be was elected as an associate justice of the state supreme court, and in 1866 was again elected to the court, but was ousted in 1868 by Reconstruction era measures.[1][3] After the war, he took up his residence at Little Rock, where he remained in the practice of law until his death,[1][3] aside from a brief reappointment to the court in June 1874.[4]
Personal life and deathedit
Compton had a wife, who died before him, with whom he had three daughters.[1]
He suffered from Bright's disease, which contributed to his death from pneumonia, at his home in Little Rock, at the age of 69.[1] His residence was at Ninth and Bishop streets. He was interred at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock, and various resolutions were prepared in his honor by the state.[5]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefgh"Death of Judge Compton", The Southern Standard (June 2, 1893), p. 2
^Arkansas Historical Association (1908). Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association. p. 281.
^ abcdefgFay Hempstead, Historical Review of Arkansas (1911), p. 455-56.
freeman, compton, freeman, walker, compton, january, 1824, 1893, justice, arkansas, supreme, court, from, 1859, 1864, again, from, 1866, 1868, again, 1874, contents, early, life, career, personal, life, death, referencesearly, life, editborn, orange, county, n. Freeman Walker Compton January 15 1824 May 28 1893 1 was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1859 to 1864 again from 1866 to 1868 and again in 1874 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life and death 4 ReferencesEarly life editBorn in Orange County North Carolina 1 2 he received a good education in the schools of his native state 3 and attended the law school operated by North Carolina Chief Justice Richmond Mumford Pearson graduating in 1844 1 3 Career editHe settled at Greeneville Tennessee where he was admitted to the bar and practiced law until 1849 when he moved to Arkansas There he first settled at Princeton Dallas County where he practiced law until 1852 when he moved to Camden Arkansas 1 3 Historian Fay Hempstead described Compton s reputation as a lawyer His mind was as strong as his body but both physically and intellectually he was singularly slow and lethargic He was a powerful lawyer when aroused and when he had had time for preparation but he could do nothing in a hurry and he could no more be hurried than the pyramids of Egypt No matter how impatient court or counsel might become they could make no impression upon him He could move only at a certain pace and that a very slow one and it was useless to try to force him to adopt a more rapid gait When however he was retained in a case of sufficient importance and with a fee that was adequate to his demands he was a man of extraordinary power He would not take it up until he was ready which meant that the delay would be considerable and he was so large and so inert that no one ever succeeded in hurrying him into a trial In his own good season he would have the case set down and then his opponent had to look well to his laurels By that time he had not merely read the cases bearing upon the subject but he had thought about it profoundly and his views were original and bold 3 Compton was a loquacious speaker and it took him time to gather his thoughts but his writing was described as remarkably terse and clear never using a superfluous word 3 In 1858 be was elected as an associate justice of the state supreme court and in 1866 was again elected to the court but was ousted in 1868 by Reconstruction era measures 1 3 After the war he took up his residence at Little Rock where he remained in the practice of law until his death 1 3 aside from a brief reappointment to the court in June 1874 4 Personal life and death editCompton had a wife who died before him with whom he had three daughters 1 He suffered from Bright s disease which contributed to his death from pneumonia at his home in Little Rock at the age of 69 1 His residence was at Ninth and Bishop streets He was interred at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock and various resolutions were prepared in his honor by the state 5 References edit a b c d e f g h Death of Judge Compton The Southern Standard June 2 1893 p 2 Arkansas Historical Association 1908 Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association p 281 a b c d e f g Fay Hempstead Historical Review of Arkansas 1911 p 455 56 The Gazette Ring Daily Arkansas Gazette June 26 1874 p 1 Judge Compton s Funeral Daily Arkansas Gazette May 31 1893 p 4 Political offices Preceded byFelix Ives Batson Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court1859 1864 Succeeded byJohn J Clendenin Preceded byCharles A Harper 1866 1868 Succeeded byLafayette Gregg Preceded byJohn E Bennett 1874 1874 Succeeded byWilliam M Harrison Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Freeman W Compton amp oldid 1197948831, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
