Joseph Crockett Shaffer (January 19, 1880October 19, 1958) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

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 ...

Biography

Born near

Wytheville, Virginia Wytheville ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Wythe County, Virginia, Wythe County, Virginia, United States. It is named after George Wythe, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Wytheville ...

, Shaffer attended the Wytheville public schools. He was graduated from Plummer College in Wytheville in 1902 and from the law department of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 1904. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1904 and commenced practice in Wytheville. He served as

Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Wythe County Wythe County () is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 28,290. Its county seat is Wytheville. History Wythe County was formed from Montgomery Coun ...

1908-1912. He served as assistant United States district attorney in the years 1920-1924 and served as

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the western district of Virginia from 1924-1929. Shaffer was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-first Congress (March 4, 1929–March 3, 1931). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1930 to the Seventy-second Congress. He was reappointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Virginia, serving from 1931 until his resignation in 1932. He resumed the private practice of law. Shaffer was a stockholder and officer in Wythe County National Bank. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1940. He died in

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts a ...

, and was interred in St. John's Church Cemetery, Wytheville.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, Joseph Crockett 1880 births 1958 deaths County and city commonwealth's attorneys in Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni People from Wytheville, Virginia United States attorneys for the Western District of Virginia Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 20th-century Virginia politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives