Francis Triplett Hord Jr. (November 24, 1835 – March 8, 1912) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the thirteenth

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

from November 6, 1882, to November 22, 1886.

Biography

Early life and education

Hord was born in Maysville, Kentucky. His father, Francis Sr., was a lawyer, government

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

of the lands of the

Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. History In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Upper ...

, judge of the Kentucky Circuit Court, director of the Bank of Northern Kentucky in Maysville, and a pro- Unionist during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. His wife, the mother of Francis Jr., Elizabeth Scott Hord, descended from a prominent family from York County, Virginia. The older brother of Francis Jr., Oscar B. Hord, also served as

from 1862 to 1864. Hord received his legal education in Maysville at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of Rand & Richeson. He graduated from the seminary in 1853 and began to

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

with his father. After being admitted to the bar in 1856, he moved to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, Indiana, where he opened a law office.

Legal and political career

Hord, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, was elected

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

of Bartholomew County in 1858. In 1860, he was appointed Bartholomew

County Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

, a position he held for twenty years. He also served as

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

of Columbus for four years. In 1862, Hord was elected to serve in the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...

. In 1876, following the death of

Michael C. Kerr Michael Crawford Kerr (March 15, 1827 – August 19, 1876) of Indiana was an attorney, an American legislator, and the first Democratic speaker of the United States House of Representatives after the Civil War. Early life He was born at Titus ...

, Governor

Thomas A. Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...

nominated Hord to fill Kerr's now vacant seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Hord declined the offer. Hord was a

Presidential Elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

and

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

. Also in 1880, he served as Chairman of the Chairman of the

Indiana Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Indiana is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Indiana. The Indiana Democratic Party currently holds two of Indiana's United States congressional delegations from I ...

Convention held in Indianapolis. In 1882 and 1884, he traveled around the state, campaigning for Democratic politicians. In 1882, Hord was elected

, succeeding

Daniel P. Baldwin Daniel Pratt Baldwin (c. 1837 – December 13, 1908) was an American lawyer, judge, politician, banker, writer, lecturer, and philanthropist who served as the twelfth Indiana Attorney General from November 6, 1880 to November 6, 1882. Biography ...

. Hord served two terms, re-elected in 1884. He served in the position for four years under

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Albert G. Porter Albert Gallatin Porter (April 20, 1824 – May 3, 1897) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Indiana from 1881 to 1885 and as a United States Congressman from 1859 to 1863. Originally a Democrat, he joined the Republica ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

) and Isaac P. Gray (a Democrat). During his time as Attorney General, Hord wrote a number of opinions on various questions surrounding Indiana law. The

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...

later published these opinions. Hord was succeeded to the office by

Louis T. Michener Louis Theodore Michener (December 21, 1848 - February 10, 1928) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fourteenth Indiana Attorney General from November 22, 1886 to November 22, 1890. Michener also served on the staff of Presiden ...

. The Deputy Attorney General during Hord's term was his son, William Banfield Hord. In May 1886, a few months before he left office, a commission of two judges and a doctor declared Hord to be

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

. He was subsequently sent to the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Hord was elected judge of Indiana's Ninth Circuit Court in 1892 after "hundreds of citizens" signed a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

to put his name on the ballot for the election. He served on the bench until 1904. In 1897, following the death of

William S. Holman William Steele Holman (September 6, 1822 – April 22, 1897) was a lawyer, judge and politician from Dearborn County, Indiana. He was a member of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1865, 1867 to 1877, 1881 ...

(a U.S. Representative from Indiana), Governor Isaac P. Gray nominated Hord to assume his seat in Congress. Hord declined the nomination, just as he had when offered Kerr's seat.

Personal life and death

Hord was a skilled public speaker and was called "the silver-tongued orator of the West." Hord was a friend of

, Indiana Governor and

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

under

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. In 1885, Hord traveled to Washington, D.C. as a personal guest of the Vice President. Hord married Emma Banfield. Their son, William Banfield Hord, also became a lawyer, studying law with his father and becoming Deputy Indiana Attorney General from 1882 to 1887 (under his father and under

). William B. was later hired as attorney and general counsel for a gasworks and waterworks corporation in Chicago and was then employed by a large banking-house in New York City to purchase the debt accured by the U.S. Government to the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

following the government's purchase of the

Cherokee Outlet The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet wa ...

. Hord died in Indianapolis in 1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hord, Francis 1835 births 1912 deaths People from Maysville, Kentucky Indiana lawyers Indiana Attorneys General Democratic Party Indiana state senators 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American legislators Indiana state court judges 19th-century Indiana politicians