Robert Virgil Fletcher (September 27, 1869 – May 16, 1960) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Mississippi The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the Supreme court, highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1 ...

from 1908 to 1909.

Biography

Robert Virgil Fletcher was born on September 27, 1869, in

Clermont County, Ohio Clermont County, popularly called Clermont ( ), is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 208,601. Ordinanced in 1800 as part of the Virginia Military District, Clermont is Ohio's eighth oldest county, t ...

, and moved with his family to

Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,941. Its county seat is Williamstown. The county was formed in 1820 and named for Colonel John Grant, w ...

, when he was one year old. He was the son of John M. Fletcher and Mary (Luman) Fletcher. Fletcher attended the common schools and the high schools of Taylorsville and Williamston, both in Kentucky. He later enrolled in the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

in a post-graduate course, but he did not complete it. He then taught in some of Mississippi's public and high schools from 1893 to 1899. After studying law in the office of C. B. Mitchell, he was admitted to the bar in 1899.

Career

Fletcher was appointed to the office of Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi on January 1, 1906. After the heretofore Attorney General's death, Fletcher was appointed to that position on March 26, 1907. He then ran for a full term, and was nominated by the Democratic Party in August 1907 and was elected in November of that year for the 1908-1912 term. On November 27, 1908, Fletcher was appointed to the

. He left the Court about 6 months later. He then continued to practice law in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. On February 10, 1911, he became the general attorney of the Illinois Central Railway Company. In 1920, Fletcher was appointed assistant general counsel to the United States Railroad Administration, and then became the general solicitor of the Illinois Central Railway Company. He then served as the railroad's vice president and general counsel. In April 1933, he became the vice president and general counsel of the American Association of Railway Executives (later the

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

). Fletcher was elected to be its president in December 1946. He later resigned from this position to become its general counsel. He retired in 1952 at the age of 83.

Personal life

Fletcher was a member of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, and was also a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, the

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

, and the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

. He married Etta Childers in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in 1893. They had three children, named Ernest Lamar, Louise, and Paul. Fletcher died on May 16, 1960, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Robert Virgil 1869 births 1960 deaths People from Grant County, Kentucky U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi Mississippi lawyers Mississippi Democrats