Home County: Macon
Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: January 1877 - December 1886
John Ward Henry was born January 29, 1825, in Cynthiana Kentucky.[i] He studied and graduated from Transylvania University in 1844.[ii] He practice for a while in Kentucky, before he arrived in Missouri, with his parents.[iii] In 1845, he joined the Bar and set up a law practice in Boonville, Missouri.[iv] In 1847, Ward moved to Fayette, Howard County, and was an attorney for the State Bank of Missouri.[v] In Fayette, he also formed a law partnership with Robert T. Prewitt.[vi] “In 1854, Governor Sterling Price appointed him to serve as State superintendent of public schools.”[vii] In 1864, he moved to Macon City, Missouri, where he lived until his service with the Supreme Court of Missouri.[viii]
In 1872, he was elected judge with the 27th Judicial Circuit, which “composed of the counties of Macon, Adair, Schuyler, and Putnam.”[ix] He was reelected that position in 1875.[x] In November of 1876,[xi] he was elected to the Supreme Court of Missouri, for a ten year term, which began in January of 1877.[xii] Judge Henry’s term with the Court concluded on December 31, 1886.[xiii] He was Chief Justice of the Court from 1884 to 1886.[xiv]
After his retirement from the bench, Judge Henry moved to Kansas City and continued to practice law.[xv] In 1889, the state Legislature expanded the court by adding two additional circuit judgeships in Kansas City to deal with overwhelming dockets.[xvi] “Judge Henry was appointed on February 19, 1889, by Governor Francis, to one of those two positions.[xvii] In 1890 was elected for a full term by an overwhelming majority. He was a member of the Kansas City Bar Association.[xviii]
Judge Henry died on December 12, 1902, in Kansas City.[xix]
[i] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188.
[ii] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188.
[iii] The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 492, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[iv] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188. See also: The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 492, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[v] The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 492, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[vi] The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 492, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[vii] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188. See also: The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 492, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[viii] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188. See also: The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 493, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[ix] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188. See also: The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 493, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[x] The Bench and Bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Other Missouri Cities, (St. Louis, MO: H.C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1884), 493, information courtesy of Archive.org, accessed on June 26, 2019.
[xi] Weekly Intelligencer Staff, “National Democratic Ticket,” Weekly Intelligencer, (Lexington, Missouri), Saturday, November 4, 1876, information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO, image courtesy of Chronicling America website, accessed on June 21, 2019. See also: Weekly Intelligencer Staff, “Election Returns,” Weekly Intelligencer, (Lexington, Missouri), Saturday, November 18, 1876, information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO, image courtesy of Chronicling America website, accessed on June 21, 2019.
[xii] The State Journal, (Jefferson City, Missouri), Friday, November 10, 1876, information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, image provided by Chronicling America website, accessed June 26, 2019. See also: Truman A. Post, reporter, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. LXIII, (St. Louis, MO: W.J. Gilbert, 1877), iii.
[xiii] Michael K. McGrath, ed., Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, State Almanac and Official Directory of Missouri for 1878, (St. Louis, MO: John J. Daly & Co., 1878), 9, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed June 26, 2019.
[xiv] Michael K. McGrath., ed., Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, Official Directory of Missouri for 1885, (Washington, D.C.: John J. Daly Stationery & Printing Co., 1885), 117, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed June 26, 2019. See also: F.M. Brown, reporter, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, Vol. 90, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, 1887), Judge of the Supreme Court During the Time of These Reports page.
[xv] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188. See also: Iron County Register Staff, “Lamentable Affair: A Long and Continually Growing Enmity Between Ex-Chief Justice Henry and State Auditor Walker Culminates in a Personal Encounter, in Which Judge Henry Gets Shot and Walker Severely Injured by a Blow From a Cane,” Iron County Register, (Ironton, Missouri), Thursday, May 5, 1887, information provided by the State Historical Society of Missouri, image provided by Chronicling America website, website accessed on June 21, 2019.
[xvi] Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. III, (Boston, MA: The Boston Book Company, 1891), 188.
[xvii] The Butler Weekly Times Staff, “Judge Henry and Judge Gibson,” The Butler Weekly Times, (Butler, Missouri), Wednesday, February 20, 1889, information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO, image courtesy of Chronicling America website, accessed on June 21, 2019.
[xviii] The St. Louis Republic Staff, “Judge J.W. Henry Has Passed Away, Died at His Home in Kansas City After a Protracted Illness,” The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, Missouri), Saturday, December 13, 1902, information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO, image courtesy of Chronicling America website, accessed on June 21, 2019.
[xix] The St. Louis Republic Staff, “Judge J.W. Henry Has Passed Away, Died at His Home in Kansas City After a Protracted Illness,” The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, Missouri), Saturday, December 13, 1902, information courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO, image courtesy of Chronicling America website, accessed on June 21, 2019.
Biographical information authored by Maxwell Beffa, 2019, University of Missouri-Columbia.