Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 05.pdf/453

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The Green Bag,

Act " of the Confederate Congress, he was chosen one of the " Receivers " to execute the difficult and delicate responsibilities of that law, along with some of the ablest law yers of Virginia. At the close of the war he resumed the practice of law, with broken health, accu mulated burdens, and a numerous family. In 1877 and 1878-1879 he again represented Frederick County in the Legislature. In 1879 he was elected, by the Legislature, Secretary of the Commonwealth; and in 1883 he was elected, for a term of twelve years, one of the five judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. Upon the organization of the court, he was chosen by his brother judges to be the Resident Judge of the court at Richmond, as required by law. The Virginia Reports, from 1883 to 1893 inclusive, contain many elaborate opinions delivered by Judge Fauntleroy; and among them are the celebrated and interesting cases of Cluverius v. The Com monwealth; Davis v. Strange; Thomas' Administrator v. Bettie Thomas Lewis; and Colbert & Kirtley v. Shepherd, — the Mary Washington Monument case. The circumstances of the death of the youthful Capt. Henry Fauntleroy at the battle of Monmouth, are narrated by G. W. Parke Custis in his " Reminiscences; " and the death of Major Griffin Fauntleroy of Washington's Cavalry at the battle of Guilford Court House, is mentioned in a let ter of Governor Jefferson of Virginia to General Washington, dated March 21, 1781. They were great-uncles of Judge Fauntle roy, and of Norman descent. Judge Fauntleroy has been for forty years a communicant in the Episcopal Church. He has been twice married, and has raised and educated a family of ten children, to whom he has set the example of never using in any way tobacco or intox icating liquors; to which abstinence he attributes the unimpaired vigor of his mind and body, and his capacity to endure the unremitting and severe labors of his office.

Drury A. Hinton was born in Petersburg, Va., where most of his ancestry have resided since the year 1653. On his father's side he was descended from Maj. Gen. A. Brown Wood, who received a patent in that year for the land on which the city of Petersburg is built, and from Major Peter Jones, from whom the city derives its name; and on his mother's, from Capt. John Stith, who was the ancestor of William Stith, the historian. He was sent to the best schools in his | native town until 1857, when he was sent to that famous teacher Lewis Minor Coleman, at Taylorsville, Hanover County, where he remained two years. Coleman was after wards a professor at the University of Vir ginia. At school he was a very hard student, and injured his health by allowing himself no more than four hours' sleep in the twentyfour. This over-work afterwards showed itself at the University of Virginia, so that he was not able to remain longer than four months in any one session during the period he remained there. While studying law in March, 1861, Mr. Hinton left the University of Virginia to enter the Confederate States Army, which he did as first lieutenant Co. G, 41 st Regiment Va. Infantry. He served through the war, and was paroled at Appomattox. In 1866 he reviewed the study of law under the distinguished Judge William T. Joynes, and in August of that year was admitted to the bar. In 1872 he was by the people elected Commonwealth's Attor ney, and by the Common Council corporation counsel for the city of Petersburg, both of which positions he held continuously until he resigned in 1882 to take his seat on the Supreme Bench of the State. It is said that in his capacity as Commonwealth's Attor ney he never had an indictment successfully demurred to, and during his time as corpor ation counsel no verdict was had against the city of Petersburg. He was the only dissenting judge in the famous case of Com monwealth j'. Cluverius, 8 1 Va. 787. One of the believers in the innocence of Cluve rius has since published a book on the sub-