Wendell Phillips Stafford (May 1, 1861 – April 21, 1953) was an American

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gov ...

and jurist. He was most notable for his service as an

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

and as an

of the

Supreme Court of the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the High Court of American ...

Early life and education

Born in Barre,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, Stafford was the son of Franklin Stafford and Sarah (Noyes) Stafford. He attended the public schools of Barre and graduated from Barre Academy in 1878. Stafford graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy in 1880, and received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

in 1883. He was admitted to the bar, and began to practice in

St. Johnsbury St. Johnsbury (known locally as "St. J") is the shire town (county seat) of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,364. St. Johnsbury is situated on the Passumpsic River and is located approximatel ...

, Vermont in partnership with

Henry Clay Ide Henry Clay Ide (September 18, 1844 – June 13, 1921) was a U.S. judge, colonial commissioner, ambassador, and Governor-General of the Philippines. Biography Early life, States Attorney, Senator, and Presidential Commissioner to Samoa Ide w ...

. Among the prospective attorneys who studied law in their office was William H. Taylor, who later served as an associate justice of the

Career

Stafford was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

in 1892. He was a Reporter of Decisions for the Supreme Court of Vermont from 1896 to 1900. He was an associate justice of the

from 1900 to 1904, succeeding

Laforrest H. Thompson Laforrest H. Thompson (January 6, 1848 – June 22, 1900) was a Vermont attorney and politician who served as President of the Vermont Senate and a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. Biography Laforrest Holman Thompson was born in Bakers ...

. He resigned to accept appointment as a federal judge, and was succeeded by

George M. Powers George M. Powers (December 19, 1861 – June 24, 1938) was a Vermont attorney, politician, and judge. He was most notable for his service as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1904 to 1906, and again from 1909 to 1913, and chi ...

Federal judicial service

Stafford received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

on June 1, 1904, to an Associate Justice seat on the

(now the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

) vacated by Associate Justice

Jeter Connelly Pritchard Jeter Connelly Pritchard (July 12, 1857 – April 10, 1921) was a lawyer, newspaperman, United States Senator and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and of the United States Circuit Court ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on December 6, 1904. He was confirmed by the

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

on December 13, 1904, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on May 4, 1931, due to his retirement. Stafford was active in Washington civic life, and one of the few white members of the local chapter of the NAACP. The Stafford, an apartment building in Washington, was named for Stafford by its builder, a friend and fellow Vermont native.

Other service

Stafford was a professor of law at

Georgetown Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. In 1901, Stafford received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. In 1907, he received an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from Georgetown.

Career as author

Stafford was also a poet, and his published works include: ''North Flowers'' (1902); ''Dorian Days'' (1909); and ''The Land We Love'' (1916).

Death and burial

Stafford died at his home in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on April 21, 1953. He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.

Family

In 1886, Stafford married Florence S. Goss of St. Johnsbury. They were the parents of two sons. Edward was a Washington, DC attorney and the husband of Marie Peary, daughter of

Josephine Diebitsch Peary Josephine Cecilia Peary ( Diebitsch; May 22, 1863 – December 19, 1955) was an American author and arctic explorer. She was the wife of Robert Peary, who claimed to be the first to have reached the geographic North Pole. Early life Josep ...

and

Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...

. Robert Burns Stafford was born in 1894 and died in 1901.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, Wendell Phillips 1861 births 1953 deaths Boston University School of Law alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia United States district court judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt People from Barre, Vermont People from Caledonia County, Vermont People from Adams Morgan American male poets Members of the Vermont House of Representatives People from Mount Pleasant (Washington, D.C.) 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly