William Shepard Bryan (November 20, 1827 – December 9, 1906)[1][2] was a Maryland lawyer who served as a justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1883 to 1898.[3]
William Shepard Bryan | |
|---|---|
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| Justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals | |
| In office 1883–1898 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 20, 1827 New Bern, North Carolina |
| Died | December 9, 1906 (aged 79) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Resting place | Green Mount Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Edmondson Hayward
(m. 1857; died 1898) |
| Children | 4, including William Shepard Jr. |
| Education | University of North Carolina |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
Early life, education, and career edit
Born in New Bern, North Carolina, he was the son of Congressman John Heritage Bryan.[4] Bryan "received his early general and education in the South".[2] He graduated from the University of North Carolina and read law under the supervision of his father.[4] He moved to Baltimore in 1850, and read law to gain admission to the bar in Maryland in 1851, thereafter entering the practice of law.[4][2] He was a southern sympathizer during the American Civil War,[2] and was a presidential elector in the 1876 United States presidential election.[2]
Judicial service edit
In 1883, Bryan was elected as a Democrat to the Baltimore seat on the Court of Appeals vacated by the resignation of Judge James Lawrence Bartol.[4] As the only judge with no circuit duties to perform, he "delivered the opinion of the court in a large number of cases, many of them being of great importance and public interest".[4] He retired from the court in 1898.[1]
Personal life and death edit
On October 1, 1857, Bryan married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Edmondson Hayward of Talbot County, Maryland, with whom he had a daughter and three sons.[1][2] Bryan's wife died in 1898.[1][2] Bryan himself died of liver cancer eight years later, at the age of 79,[2] at the home of his son, William Shepard Jr., who was then attorney general of the state.[1] He was interred in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e "Ex-Judge Bryan Dead". The Baltimore Sun. December 10, 1906. p. 14. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "William Shepard Bryan, Sr. (1827-1906)". Maryland Courts. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ "Maryland Court of Appeals Judges, 1778–". Archives of Maryland. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "The Court of Appeals: A Historical Review of Maryland's Highest Tribunal". The Baltimore Sun. February 19, 1892. p. 3. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.