A. D. Bright

Aaron Davidson Bright Jr. (August 10, 1838 – September 11, 1898) was a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1894.

Early life

Aaron Davidson Bright Jr. was born on August 10, 1838, in Hinds County, Mississippi, to Mary G. (née Williams) and Aaron Davidson Bright. His father was from Currituck County, North Carolina, and his maternal ancestors were from Haywood County, Tennessee.[1][2] His father died in 1840. Bright moved to Brownsville at the age of three and was raised there by his mother.[1][3] Bright attended Emory & Henry College in Virginia and then East Tennessee University until 1860.[4][5]

Career

On May 24, 1861, Bright joined with the Confederate States Army at Corinth, Mississippi, enlisting as a private in the 18th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.[6][7] After one year, he joined the cavalry with the rank of captain.[4][8] He was a member of Forrest's Cavalry Corps,[3] serving on the staff of James R. Chalmers as provost marshal.[5][9]

After the war, Bright worked as a lawyer in Brownsville.[4] In May 1883, he was appointed to the Referee Court in Jackson, where he served two years.[1][8] In February 1894, he served as special judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court following the illness of Judge Benjamin J. Lea. When Lea died the following month, Governor Peter Turney appointed Bright as associate justice.[10][11] Bright chose not to run for election to the seat later that year.[12] He served until September 1, 1894, after which he resumed practicing law.[8][13] He was a Democrat.[1]

Later in life, Bright worked in chancery court and railroad business.[1][4] He was a contributor to Goodspeed's History of Tennessee.[4]

Bright was a member of the Hiram S. Bradford Bivouac chapter of the United Confederate Veterans.[4] He was also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.[1]

Personal life

Bright married and had two daughters (Mary and Mrs. James Tipton) and two sons (Prentiss, and A. D. Jr.)[4] He was a member of the Methodist Church.[3] He was friends with David A. Nunn.[14]

Bright died on September 11, 1898, at age 60, at his home in Brownsville.[4] He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.[4]

Legacy

A memorial window was installed at the Brownsville Methodist Church in his memory.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Death Claimed Him". The Nashville American. September 12, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ↑ "The Williams' Family Bulletin". 1978. p. 11. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hon. A. D. Bright". The Commercial Appeal. September 13, 1898. p. 4. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Well-Known Tennessean Dead". Nashville Banner. September 12, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. 1 2 History of Tennessee from the Earliest Time to the Present. Nashville, Tennessee: The Goodspeed Publishing Co. 1887. pp. 924–925. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Thirty-Six Dead of One Camp". Confederate Veteran. Vol. X, no. 8. August 1902. p. 378. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Confederate Soldiers from the State of Mississippi - Bright, A D - Eighteenth Infantry, Bo-By". U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society. "Justices". Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  9. ↑ Krick, Robert E. L. (2003). Staff officers in gray: a biographical register of the staff officers in the Army of Northern Virginia. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. p. 318. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Special Judge Bright Appointed". The Chattanooga Daily Times. March 17, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  11. ↑ "Judge Bright Appointed". The Knoxville Journal. March 16, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  12. ↑ "Tomorrow's Convention", Chattanooga Daily Times (April 17, 1894), p. 1.
  13. ↑ "Tennesseans of Note". The Nashville Daily American. September 10, 1894. p. 4. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  14. ↑ "Why Nunn Resigned". Semi Weekly Leaf-Chronicle. March 12, 1897. p. 8. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  15. ↑ "Memorial to Judge Bright". The Commercial Appeal. March 26, 1899. p. 13. Retrieved May 12, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.