Walter L. Lovelace (October 1, 1831 – August 5, 1866) was a Missouri lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1864 to 1865, and as a justice of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constituti ...

from 1865 to 1866.

Early life, education, and career

Lovelace was born in

Charlotte County, Virginia Charlotte County is a United States county located in the south central part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Charlotte Court House. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,529. Charlotte County is ...

. His parents were not wealthy and his father died in 1833. His mother moved to

Montgomery County, Missouri Montgomery County is a county in the east central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,322. Its county seat is Montgomery City. The county was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Rev ...

, and Walter labored on a farm during his boyhood, attending school only during the winter months. He became a teacher and by his savings was able to attend the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He also " studied law under Ben Sharp, a prominent lawyer in the area", and was admitted to the bar in 1855.

Political and judicial career

In 1862 and 1864 he was elected to the Missouri state legislature, serving as

Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives are (listed by year they assumed office): * 1820 James Caldwell Democratic-Republican - St. Genevieve * 1821 Henry S. Geyer Democratic-Republican - St. Louis * 1826 Alexander Stuart Democrat ...

during his second term. An oil painting of him adorns the walls of the Chamber, "a memorial placed by Legislative direction". On June 13, 1865, he was one of three justices appointed to the Supreme Court, which had been reconfigured by statute.That Little Affair Settled—The Last Rebellion Over
, ''The Kansas City Daily Journal of Commerce'' (June 17, 1865), p. 2. He died fifteen months later, at his home in Danville, Missouri, having suffered lung issues and diagnosed with

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

. He was not yet 35 years old. Described as an "industrious judge", it was further written that "his opinions indicate that with experience and good health he would have earned for himself a prominent rank".L. C. Krauthoff, ''The Supreme Court of Missouri'', in

Horace Williams Fuller Horace Williams Fuller (June 15, 1844 – October 26, 1901) was an American lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'', a late-19th- and early-20th century legal news and humor magazine. Life and career Born in Aug ...

, ed., '' The Green Bag'' (1891), Vol. 3, p. 181-82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelace, Walter L. 1831 births 1866 deaths Missouri State University alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri Tuberculosis deaths in Missouri Missouri Republicans