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18 Tenn. L. Rev. 311 (1943-1945)
Two United States Circuit Judges

handle is hein.journals/tenn18 and id is 327 raw text is: TWO UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGES By JOHN W. GREEN Of the Knoxzille Bar Judge John Baxter HE FIRST TENNESSEE LAWYER to hold the office of United States Circuit Judge was John Baxter, of Knoxville. He was appointed under the old law when there was only one judge in a circuit. He was stern, unbending, and at times arbitrary but always just, and his ability was outstanding. He was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, March 5, 1819. His father, William Baxter, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was a poor man, unable to give his son any schooling except such as was afforded by what was known in that day as an old field school. The result was that his instruction was limited to the study of the three R's-reading, writing, and arithmetic-and this, it would seem, was not of the best. Even after he became a famous lawyer he was known to be a poor speller. A story illustrative of this was to the effect that once, in writing a letter, he had occasion to use the word gnat and spelled it nat. When his attention was called to the mistake he refused to correct it, saying, if 'nat' don't spell nat, what in the hell does it spell ? His father, while he could not give him a good education, was able to transmit to him an honest name, a rugged constitution, and a strong mind full of common sense. At the age of sixteen Baxter moved to South Carolina where he got together enough money to open a small store. However, it did not take long for him to find out that the mercantile business was not suited to his taste so he quit merchandizing and began to study law. Simpson Bobo, a well-known attorney in that section, took him into his office where he applied himself diligently and soon acquired a knowledge of the funda- mental principles of law. If, as has been said, law is good sense and what is contrary to good sense is not law, he started out with a sound legal education, for he had an abundant supply of good sense. At any rate his equipment was sufficient to enable him to successfully pass his examina- tion and gain admission to the bar. The Baxters as a family seemed to have had a strong predilection for the legal profession. Two of the sons of John Baxter became lawyers, his uncle was a lawyer, and his brother Elisha was a member of the Supreme Court of Arkansas during the Reconstruction Era and later was a Republican Governor of that State. His administration was so conservative that at the end of his term the Democrats offered him the nomination (then equivalent to an election) to succeed himself, but he preferred to retire to private life and declined to accept it. Having obtained his license, John Baxter returned to North Carolina and entered into partnership with his uncle, George W. Baxter,

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