Judge Theodore Brace

 

Home County: Monroe 

 Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: January 1887 - December 1906

 

Judge Theodore Brace was born in Alleghany County, Maryland, on June 10, 1835.[i]  He was educated by tutors and attended Allegany Academy, where he graduated.[ii] Brace worked various jobs, including in the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office in Alleghany County, Maryland and devoted his free time to studying law.[iii] In May of 1856, he was admitted to the bar in the Circuit Court of Allegany County, Maryland.[iv] Shortly after, he moved to Bloomfield, Iowa, where a relative resided, and became a member of the bar there.[v] In January of 1857, he moved to Missouri, resided in Paris, Monroe County, and opened a law practice.[vi]


Soon after, he was elected City Attorney for Paris, Missouri.[vii] In 1878, Brace was elected Probate Judge of Monroe County, for a four-year term, that began on January 1, 1879.[viii] Judge Brace served as a Probate Judge, until he was elected in 1880[ix], as a Circuit Judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit, which consisted of Ralls, Marion, Shelby, and Monroe counties.[x]


In November of 1886,[xi] he was elected to the Supreme Court of Missouri for a ten-year term,[xii] that expired on December 31, 1896.[xiii] Judge Brace began his service with the Court on January 1, 1887.[xiv]  Judge Brace completed his term was re-elected in November 1896,[xv] and served a second ten-year term that expired on December 31, 1906.[xvi]  


Judge Theodore Brace served as Chief Justice of the Court from 1895 to 1896[xvii] and for a second time from 1905 to 1906. [xviii]  After his term with the Court concluded, he continued with his judicial service.  Because of his judicial expertise, he was appointed by the Court as a special commissioner in State ex inf. v. International Harvester Company of America (1911),[xix] a case involving Missouri anti-trust laws.[xx]


Judge Theodore Brace died in Paris, Missouri, on May 27, 1921.[xxi]

[i] Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 3. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[ii] Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 3. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[iii] Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 3. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[iv] Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 3. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[v] Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 3. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[vii] “Judge Brace,” Souvenir of the Missouri Legislature (Thirty-Ninth General Assembly), State Officers, Etc., 1897-8, vol. 1, (Jefferson City, MO: Scroggs & Davis, 1897), information courtesy of Google Books website, accessed May 18, 2021, available from https://books.google.cd/books?hl=fr&id=VB86AQAAIAAJ&q=theodore+brace#v=onepage&q=theodore%20brace&f=false

[viii] Michael K. McGrath, compiler, Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, State Almanac and Official Directory of Missouri for 1879, (St. Louis, MO: John J. Daly & Co., Stationers and Printers, 1879), 27-28, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed February 16, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/471/rec/2 and https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/472/rec/2

See also: Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 4. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[ix] Alexander A. Lesueur, compiler, Alexander A. Lesueur, Secretary of State, Official Manual, State of Missouri for the Years 1889-90, (Jefferson City, MO: Tribune Printing Company, State Printers and Binders, 1890), 209, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed May 19, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/1904/rec/7

[x] John E. Swanger, compiler, John E. Swanger, Secretary of State, Official Manual of the State of Missouri for the Years 1905-1906, (Jefferson City, MO: 1906), 59, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed May 18, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/5403/rec/15 See also: Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 4. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[xi] F.M. Brown, state reporter, Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. 90, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, iii. Publication in the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library. See also: Michael K. McGrath, editor, Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, Official Directory 1887-8,6th ed., (Jefferson City, MO: Tribune Company, State Printers and Binders, 1888), 125, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on February 16, 2021, available from https://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/2066/rec/6

[xii] Michael K. McGrath, ed., Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, Directory of Missouri, 1887-8, 6th edition, (Jefferson City, MO: Tribune Printing Company, State Printers and Binders, 1888), 125, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on May 19, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/2066/rec/6

[xiii] F.M. Brown, state reporter, Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. 90, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, iii. Publication in the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library. See also: Michael K. McGrath, editor, Michael K. McGrath, Secretary of State, Official Directory 1887-8, 6th ed., (Jefferson City, MO: Tribune Company, State Printers and Binders, 1888), 125, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on February 16, 2021, available from https://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/2066/rec/6

[xiv] F.M. Brown, state reporter, Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. 90, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, iii. Publication in the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[xv] John E. Swanger, compiler, John E. Swanger, Secretary of  State, Official Manual of the State of Missouri for the Years 1905-1906, (Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stephens Printing Company, 1906), 120, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed May 19, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/5458/rec/15 See also: Supreme Court of Missouri, Memorial to Judge Theodore Brace, Judge of the Supreme Court, (Jefferson City, MO), October 2, 1942, 5. Document located in file in Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[xvi] Alexander A. Lesueur, compiler, Alexander A. Lesueur, Secretary of State, Official Manual of the State of Missouri for the Years 1897-98, (Jefferson City, MO: Tribune Printing Company, State Printers and Binders, 1897), 164, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage, Missouri State Archives, accessed on February 16, 2021, available from https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/3277/rec/11

[xvii] John E. Swanger, compiler, John E. Swanger, Secretary of State, Official Manual of the State of Missouri for the Years 1905-1906, (Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stephens Printing Company, 1906), 59, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on February 16, 2021, available from https://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/5403/rec/15

[xviii] Perry S. Rader, reporter, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. 185, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, 1905), iii. Publication in the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library. See also: John E. Swanger, compiler, John E. Swanger, Secretary of State, Official Manual of the State of Missouri for the Years 1905-1906, (Jefferson City, MO: The Hugh Stephens Printing Company, 1906), 59, information courtesy of Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed on February 16, 2021, available from https://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/bluebook/id/5403/rec/15

[xix] “Harvester Trust is Guilty,” The Butler Weekly Times, (Butler, Missouri), November 16, 1911, image digitized by the State Historical Society of Missouri, information courtesy of the Chronicling America website, accessed on May 19, 2021, available from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89066489/1911-11-16/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=1909&index=7&rows=20&words=Brace+Theodore&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=Missouri&date2=1921&proxtext=Theodore+Brace+&y=9&x=11&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 See also: Perry S. Rader, reporter, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. 237, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, 1912), 369-424. Publication in the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library. See also: “Harvester Company Pays Fine of $25,000,” The Butler Weekly Times, (Butler, Missouri), July 2, 1914, information digitized by the State Historical Society of Missouri, information courtesy of the Chronicling America website, accessed May 19, 2021, available from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89066489/1914-07-02/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1909&index=6&rows=20&words=Brace+Theodore&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=Missouri&date2=1921&proxtext=Theodore+Brace+&y=9&x=11&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

[xx] Perry S. Rader, reporter, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri, vol. 237, (Columbia, MO: E.W. Stephens, Publisher, 1912), 369-424. Publication in the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.

[xxi] “Judge Theo. Brace,” Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Missouri Death Certificates Database, 1910-1970, information courtesy of the Missouri Digital Heritage website, Missouri State Archives, accessed May 18, 2021, available from https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1921/1921_00014398.PDF


Biographical information authored by Mr. John “Jack”  Ries, 2021, University of Missouri, Columbia.  

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