Ephraim S. Fisher (November 15, 1815 – October 12, 1876) was a justice of the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals (predecessor to the Supreme Court of Mississippi) from 1852 to 1860.[1] He also served in the Mississippi Senate in the 1840s and was a candidate for governor after the Civil War.

Ephraim S. Fisher
Justice of the High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi
In office
1852–1860
Preceded byAlexander M. Clayton
Succeeded byWilliam Littleton Harris
Personal details
Born(1815-11-15)November 15, 1815
near Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedOctober 12, 1876(1876-10-12) (aged 60)
Political partyWhig
ProfessionJudge

Fisher was born near Danville, Kentucky.[2] He moved to Mississippi in 1833 and, a brief sojourn at Vicksburg, he obtained a license to practice law and located at Coffeeville. He married, acquired a plantation and slaves in Yalobusha County. A Whig, he opposed succession, but rallied to the Confederate cause during the Civil War.[3]

He served in the legislature during one session, and declined reelection. He attained high rank at the bar, and was in 1851 promoted to the supreme bench, where he served with "industry and ability" until the onset of the Civil War, when he resigned his position to resume the practice of law.

He was nominated for governor of Mississippi in 1865, but was at the time of his nomination in Washington city on professional business, and did not return until a few days before the election. In 1869, he was appointed to the circuit bench by Governor Alcorn. In 1876, he removed to Texas and died suddenly a few months later.[4]

One of his sons was active in the Ku Klux Klan.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Leslie Southwick, Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996, 18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).
  2. ^ Lynch, James Daniel (June 22, 1881). "The Bench and Bar of Mississippi". E.J. Hale & son – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b Bolton, Charles C. (July 8, 2013). William F. Winter and the New Mississippi: A Biography. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781617037870 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Thomas H. Somerville, "A Sketch of the Supreme Court of Mississippi", in Horace W. Fuller, ed., The Green Bag, Vol. XI (1899), p. 509.
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Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi
1852–1860
Succeeded by