Edmund Waddill Jr.
Edmund Waddill Jr. | |
---|---|
Jeter Connelly Pritchard | |
Succeeded by | Morris Ames Soper |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
In office March 22, 1898 – June 9, 1921 | |
Appointed by | William McKinley |
Preceded by | Robert William Hughes |
Succeeded by | Duncan Lawrence Groner |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 3rd district | |
In office April 12, 1890 – March 3, 1891 | |
Preceded by | George D. Wise |
Succeeded by | George D. Wise |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Henrico County | |
In office December 2, 1885 – December 4, 1889 | |
Preceded by | Martin W. Hazlewood |
Succeeded by | Joseph B. Davis |
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
In office 1883–1885 | |
Appointed by | Chester A. Arthur |
Preceded by | John Sergeant Wise |
Personal details | |
Born | Edmund Waddill Jr. May 22, 1855 read law |
Edmund Waddill Jr. (May 22, 1855 – April 9, 1931) was Virginia lawyer and
Early life and education
Born in
Early career
Admitted to the Virginia bar, Wadill began a private legal practice in Hanover County from 1877 to 1878, then moved to Richmond, where he practiced in the city and surrounding Henrico County from 1878 to 1880.[1] In 1880, the Virginia General Assembly named him a Judge of the County Court of Henrico County. He served for three years (to 1883) before resigning to take the position of United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (from 1883 to 1885).[1] Waddill then resumed his private legal practice as well as successfully ran for the Virginia House of Delegates (a part time position) and was re-elected, serving from 1885 until 1889.[1]
Congressional service
As a
Judicial service
President William McKinley nominated Waddill on March 10, 1898, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Judge Robert William Hughes.[1] The United States Senate confirmed the nomination on March 22, 1898, and Judge Waddill received his commission the same day.[1] One of his famous cases involved suffragettes sentenced to jail for protesting as "the Silent Sentinels" outside the White House. On November 14, 1917, the women sentenced to the Occoquon Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia endured a "Night of Terror" which included beatings by prison guards, and suffragette Lucy Burns was forced to stand all night with the arms shackled to her cell's ceiling. Three days later, Judge Waddill issued a Writ of Habeas Corprus seeking to free the women jailed near Alexandria, Virginia, and ten days later ordered them released.[3] Judge Waddill's district court service terminated on June 9, 1921, upon his elevation to the Fourth Circuit.[1]
Waddill was nominated by President
Death and legacy
Judge Waddill was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.[2] His son-in-law Menalcus Lankford helped revitalize the Republican party in Virginia's Tidewater region and also served 2 terms in congress, representing Virginia's 2nd Congressional district.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Edmund Waddill Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ a b c d e f "Edmund Waddill Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ Office of Historic Alexandria, "Alexandria and the Silent Sentinels" Alexandria Times March 16, 2022 p. 28
Sources
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress