John Marshall Hagans (August 13, 1838June 17, 1900) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer and judge from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Born in Brandonville, Virginia (now

), Hagans attended the public schools as a child, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1859, commencing practice in Morgantown, Virginia (now

). He was elected

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

for

Monongalia County, West Virginia Monongalia County, known locally as Mon County, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 105,822, making it West Virginia's third-most ...

, in 1862, 1863, 1864 and 1870, was

law report A or is a compilation of Legal opinion, judicial opinions from a selection of case law decided by courts. These reports serve as published records of judicial decisions that are cited by lawyers and judges for their use as precedent in subsequ ...

er for the

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's State court (United States), state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Char ...

from 1864 to 1873 and was mayor of

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

, in 1866, 1867 and 1869. Hagans was a member of the West Virginia Constitutional Convention before being elected a Republican to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1872, serving from 1873 to 1875, being unsuccessful for reelection. Afterwards, he was a member of the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular se ...

from 1879 to 1883 and was elected judge of the second

judicial circuit Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

in 1888, serving until his death on June 17, 1900, in

. He was interred there in Oak Grove Cemetery.

External links

* 1838 births 1900 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in West Virginia County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia Mayors of Morgantown, West Virginia Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Preston County, West Virginia Virginia lawyers West Virginia lawyers West Virginia circuit court judges Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 19th-century West Virginia state court judges 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Oak Grove Cemetery (Morgantown, West Virginia) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature {{WestVirginia-mayor-stub