Thomas D. W. Yonley
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Thomas Daniel Webster Yonley and T. D. W. Yonley should link here
Thomas Daniel Webster Yonley (1827 – June 1, 1888)[1] was a lawyer, Unionist, Arkansas Attorney General, and chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1864 to 1866.
Early life and career
Originally from the section of Virginia that became West Virginia,[1] Yonley located in Little Rock in 1859, and began the practice of law.[2] When the American Civil War broke out, he being a Unionist, went North, but returned to Little Rock after its capture by the Federal forces on September 10, 1863.[2] He and William Fishback represented David O. Dodd, who was executed as a spy,[3] and Yonley and Fishback published a short-lived newspaper called the the Unconditional Unionist in Little Rock from 1864 to 1866.[2][3]
In 1864, Yonley was one of the delegates from Pulaski County to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention, and was one of the preparers of Arkansas' 1864 constitution.[4]
Judicial service and later life
At the election held under the 1864 constitution, he was made Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.[2] Yonley was one of three justices elected under that regime, the others being Charles A. Harper and Elisha Baxter. Baxter resigned within a few months of his appointment, and Yonley and Harper resigned in 1866, and were replaced in the election of August 1866. They were described as having been "in office but a short time, and produced no great impression",[5] and Yonley in particular was described as "preferring the active practice of his profession" to serving on the court.[2] Upon the establishment of the Constitution of 1868, Yonley was made Chancellor of the Pulaski Chancery Court, a state office, which he resigned in 1872, to run for Attorney-General on the ticket with Elisha Baxter, as the Republican nominee for Governor.[2]
Yonley became Arkansas Attorney General on January 8, 1873,[6] and served in that capacity until the Constitution of 1874 was established, when he was succeeded by General Simon P. Hughes. Yonley then resumed the practice of law. In 1878, he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he gained distinction in his legal practice and ran for political office as a Republican.[1]
Personal life and death
Shortly before coming to Little Rock, Yonley married Margaret LeSuer in New York. She was described as "a gifted lady, who became a fine elocutionist, a thorough Shakespearean student, and a prominent leader in society". They had two sons. Margaret Yonley died in Denver on November 23, 1887, shortly after having paid a visit to Little Rock. Yonley died at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the following June, having gone there to recuperate his health. His remains were conveyed to Denver, and buried beside those of his wife.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Thomas D. W. Yonley (1827–1888)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fay Hempstead, A Pictorial History of Arkansas: From Earliest Times to the Year 1890 (1890), p. 799-800.
- ^ a b "The Unconditional Union (Little Rock, Ark.) 1864-1866". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
- ^ "1864 Arkansas Constitution". Arkansas Constitutions. January 19, 1864.
- ^ G.B. Rose, "The Supreme Court of Arkansas", The Green Bag, Volume 4 (1892), p. 433.
- ^ Fay Hempstead, A Pictorial History of Arkansas: From Earliest Times to the Year 1890 (1890), p. 1189.
Category:1827 births
Category:1888 deaths
Category:Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court
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