Justice George W. Connor
Member of a distinguished legal family, he
established a distinguished record as a
lawyer, superior court judge and a member
of the State Supreme Court.
By It. C. LAWRENCE
CONSIDERED by and large,
there is no name in the legal
annals of Carolina more famous
than that of Connor. Other fathers
have sired sons who also sat upon the
bench of our highest court, as did
Thomas Settle, the elder, and his
even more distinguished son of the
same name; our greatest Chief Jus¬
tice Thomas Ruffin, the elder, and his
son of the same name, both graced
our highest bench ; but there is no
other instance in our legal history
where father and son have simul¬
taneously presided over different
courts in the sumo city, as did Henry
Groves Counor when he presided over
the Federal District Court, and his
son. Justice George W., who sat upon
the bench of our highest tribunal.
Henry Groves Connor was ono of the
most eminent figures in the legal an¬
nals of our state, his great career being
absolutely unique in a three-fold as¬
pect. He was the only man who was
ever elected as Speaker of the House
when serving his first term in that
body ; he was the only man who served
successively as Judge of the Superior
and Supreme courts and then upon the
bench of our Federal Court, and ho
was the only man ever named to the
Federal bench in our state by a Presi¬
dent of opposite political faith.
Distinguished Sons
As might have been expected of
such a man, he sired several distin¬
guished sons. Dr. Robert D. W. Con¬
nor is one of the greatest scholars
our state has produced; a veteran pro¬
fessor at the University; a volumi¬
nous ami authoritative author; so out¬
standing in the field of letters that
when there was a vacancy in the Presi¬
dency of the University, he failed of
election by the narrowest of slender
margins. Even then Doctor Frank P.
Graham, who had been elected, went
before the Board of Trustees and
pled with them earnestly to recon¬
sider their action and to elect his
colleague! His national reputation on
the field of letters caused his appoint¬
ment by President Roosevelt as Na¬
tional Archivist; and he filled this
high position with great ability until
he voluntarily resigned to return to
his beloved University and assume
the professorial chair endowed by
Burton Craige, a position he still oc¬
cupies; and he is known as one of tho
ripest of Southern scholars and his¬
torians.
Henry Groves Connor, Jr., passed
a distinguished legislative career, sec¬
ond as a legislative veteran only to
Governor Rufus Doughton and Wal¬
ter Murphy, and he placed his im¬
print upon many important statutes
of our state. Ho failed of election ns
Speaker only by the narrow margin
of two votes, and this not because
his merits and his legislative service
did not entitle him to this honor,
but on account of talk of the
“Connor dynasty” and the “Connor
hierarchy.” Ho became at an early
age one of the leaders of the Eastern
Bar, a position he still retains, his
career evidencing the high traditions
of his legal ancestry, and his namo
being a synonym for legal ability,
high integrity and fine citizenship, not
only in the East but throughout the
state. He has elected to remain in the
rivato practice, although his well
nown qualities of judicial tempera¬
ment often cause his appointment as
referee by some state judge, or as a
special master by a Federal District
or Circuit Judge.
My subject, Judge George Whitfield
Connor, was born at Wilson in 1872,
and having attended the local schools
he entered tho University, from which
ho was graduated cum laude in 1892;
and in later years his Alma Mater hon¬
ored itself by conferring upon him
tho honorary degree of Doctor of
Laws. Ho taught school at Goldsboro
for several years, and then became
Superintendent of Schools in Wilson.
Can you name another famous Car¬
olina lawyer who also served as a Su¬
perintendent of Schools? If you will
look on Capitol Square at Raleigh,
or in the National Hall of Fame at
Washington, you will find statues of
Charles Brantley Aycock, who once
served in such capacity in his native
county of Wayne.
Entered Mercantile Business
Young Connor having married a
daughter of John
С. ПаЛеу,
lie be¬
came associated with his father-in-law
in tho mercantile business, but the
“one clear call” of his legal ancestry,
and the shining example of his father
who had entered upon his illustrious
career, caused him to enter upon the
study of the law, and he was admitted
to the bar at the February term, 1S09.
standing the second written examina¬
tion given by our Supreme Court. He
then entered upon the practice at Wil¬
son, and he soon attracted public at¬
tention by the ability which he evi¬
denced in his chosen profession; by
the fine citizenship which he exempli¬
fied ; and by the quality of his state¬
craft. His native county called him
into its legislative service in 1909.
again in 1911 and once more in 1913,
where he took from the beginning an
iuiluentia! position as a legislator,
which brought to him election as
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