Arthur Francis Hopkins (October 18, 1794 – November 10, 1865) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the U.S. state, state of Alabama. The court consists of a Chief Justice, chief justice and eight Associate Justice, associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for stagge ...

from 1836 to 1837.

Biography

Born in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

, Arthur Francis Hopkins was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1814. Two years later, he settled in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, which was then

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...

, to practice law. In 1819, he moved to Lawrence County and launched his public service career. He first as a member of the Alabama Constitutional Convention of 1819 and then as his county's delegate to the

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

(1822–24). After practicing law in Huntsville for several years, Hopkins was elected to the legislature in 1833 as a representative of Madison County. Hopkins was elected associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1836. In 1837, Governor Hugh McVay chose him to succeed Henry Hitchcock as chief justice. After serving nearly a year in that capacity, he resigned in June and resumed his law practice. He served as temporary chairman of the Whig National Convention in 1844. In 1845, Hopkins went to St. Louis for about a year, then returned to Alabama to settle in Mobile, where he established a successful law practice. He became president of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in 1855 and continued in that position for several years. Hopkins was married in 1815 to Pamela Mosely. After Pamela Hopkins's death, he remarried, to Juliet Opie, in 1854 until his own death. Mississippi librarian and suffragist Nannie Herndon Rice was Hopkins's great-granddaughter.

Death

Arthur Hopkins died on November 10, 1865, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, aged 71.

References

, - 1794 births 1865 deaths Alabama lawyers Virginia lawyers People from Danville, Virginia Politicians from Huntsville, Alabama Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Lawyers from Huntsville, Alabama Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama 19th-century Alabama state court judges 19th-century American lawyers {{Alabama-state-judge-stub