Jeter Connelly Pritchard (July 12, 1857 – April 10, 1921) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Fourth Circuit and previously was an associate justice of the

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Education and career

Born on July 12, 1857, in Jonesboro, Washington County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Pritchard was apprenticed to the printer's trade, then moved to Bakersville, Mitchell County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, in 1873. He became joint editor and owner of the ''Roan Mountain Republican''. He attended the Martins Creek Academy in Tennessee. He was a

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on the Republican Party ticket in North Carolina in 1880. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1889. He entered private practice in

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, starting in 1889. He was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889, and from 1891 to 1893. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1888 and an unsuccessful candidate for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

in 1891. He was President of the North Carolina Protective Tariff League in 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

of the

53rd United States Congress The 53rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 ...

in 1892.

Congressional service

Pritchard was elected as a Republican to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1894 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Zebulon Baird Vance Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. A prolific writer and noted public speake ...

. He was reelected in 1897 and served from January 23, 1895, to March 3, 1903. The victory of the

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alliance (or "fusion") in the 1894 legislative elections, and their subsequent domination of the North Carolina General Assembly was the key factor in Pritchard's initial election and subsequent reelection. He was Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment for the 54th and

55th United States Congress The 55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to M ...

es and Chairman of the Committee on Patents for the 56th and

57th United States Congress The 57th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1901, to ...

es. On October 21 of 1898, Pritchard sent a letter to President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, requesting federal marshals to protect black voters in the upcoming election. He warned that Democrats were stockpiling weapons and threatening black voters, and said that Democrats' claims of "Negro domination" were without basis. The letter was discussed by McKinley and his cabinet on October 24, but federal marshals were not sent as Governor Daniel Lindsay Russell had not made the request. As a result, intimidation by Red Shirts kept black voters away from the polls, resulting in a sweeping Democratic victory. On the day following the election, the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 broke out.

Federal judicial service

Pritchard was nominated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

on November 10, 1903, to an Associate Justice seat on the

(now the

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) vacated by Associate Justice Harry M. Clabaugh. He was confirmed by the

on November 16, 1903, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on June 1, 1904, due to his elevation to the Fourth Circuit. While in office Pritchard twice offered resolutions demanding that the Senate declare the

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a violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, but both attempts failed. Pritchard was nominated by President Roosevelt on April 27, 1904, to a joint seat on the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Judge Charles Henry Simonton. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 1904, and received his commission the same day. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. His service terminated on April 10, 1921, due to his death in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous ci ...

, North Carolina. He was interred in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, near fellow North Carolina Senators

Thomas Lanier Clingman Thomas Lanier Clingman (July 27, 1812November 3, 1897), known as the "Prince of Politicians," was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845 and from 1847 to 1858, and U.S. senator from the state of Nort ...

and

Family

Senator Pritchard married Augusta L. Ray in 1877 and they became the parents of three sons and a daughter—William D. (an army officer killed in the Philippines in 1904), George M. Pritchard (a politician in the Republican Party), Thomas A., and Ida (Mrs. Thomas S. Rollins). Following the death in 1886 of his wife, Pritchard married Melissa Bowman by whom he had another son, J. McKinley. After the death of his second wife in 1902, Judge Pritchard married Lillian E. Saum in 1903.

Honor

Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville is named in Pritchard's memory.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

North Carolina Election of 1898

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchard, Jeter Connelly 1857 births 1921 deaths People from Jonesborough, Tennessee Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit United States district court judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt United States court of appeals judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians Republican Party United States senators from North Carolina United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law