Thomas Bell Monroe

Thomas Bell Monroe (born October 7, 1791 in Albemarle County , Virginia , † December 24, 1865 in Pass Christian , Mississippi ) was an American lawyer and politician . After his appointment by President Andrew Jackson , he served as a federal judge in the federal district court for the District of Kentucky from 1834 until his resignation in 1861 . He was a distant cousin of the fifth US President James Monroe .

Life

Thomas Monroe attended Transylvania University in Lexington after graduating from high school , before completing a law degree in 1821 . He then practiced as a lawyer in Frankfort . He previously held a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1816 . From 1823 to 1824 he served as Secretary of State of Kentucky. From 1825 he worked as a clerk at the Kentucky Court of Appeals . In 1830 he took over the office of federal attorney for the district of Kentucky, which he held until 1834.

On February 20, 1834, Monroe was appointed by President Jackson to succeed John Boyle as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky . After confirmation by the US Senate on March 6 of the same year, he was able to take office two days later. During his time as a federal judge, he taught law in Montrose from 1843 to 1848 . In 1848 he also became head of the law school at Transylvania University; he was also until 1851 Professor of Law at Tulane University .

After Kentucky opted for secession , Monroe resigned from his judge's office; he was succeeded by Bland Ballard . Thomas Monroe represented his state between 1861 and 1862 in the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America . He also ran a private law firm in Richmond from 1861 to 1862 .

Web links

• Thomas Bell Monroe at The Political Graveyard
• Thomas Bell Monroe in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges