Josephus C. Vines (July 10, 1873 – July 19, 1964) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Brighton, Alabama as a member of the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

. In 1955, he faced legal trouble after killing a man, but was not indicted by a grand jury.

Early life

Josephus C. Vines was born in

Jefferson County, Alabama Jefferson County is the List of counties in Alabama, most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, located in the central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 674,721. Its county seat i ...

on July 10, 1873, to Robert A. W. Vines and Cornelia Carrie Stephens. On October 12, 1898, he married Anges Loftus and following her death he would remarry three more times during which he had seven children. In 1900, he successfully applied for a teaching certificate in Jefferson County along with six other people out of thirty six applicants who applied during the March examinations.

Politics

During the 1900s he served as mayor of Brighton for two or three terms. In 1905, he defeated incumbent Mayor L. W. Buell by two votes. Although it was speculated that Vines would run for reelection he stated on March 31, 1906, that he would not seek another term and on June 1, his term ended after he gave the oath of office to his successor, E. B. Knight.

Murder and later life

On July 16, 1955, Vines found Tim Scott, a bookkeeper, drinking on his doorstep in Orlando, Florida and claimed to have accidentally shot and killed him intending to bluff him believing that his .32 revolver was empty. He pleaded innocent to charges of first-degree murder and had a civil suit filed against him by Edward Hanlon on behalf of Davis Lou Scott, Tim Scott's wife, for $126,412.48. He was released on a $10,000 bond and on October 13, the Orange County Circuit Court Grand Jury chose to not indict Vines. In November 1955, he was hit by a truck and was later hospitalized for a possible heart condition in December. On July 19, 1964, Vines died in Orlando, Florida where he had lived since 1937.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vines, Josephus C. 1873 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American politicians American temperance activists Mayors of places in Alabama Alabama Prohibitionists People from Brighton, Alabama