Harry Walker Wellford (August 6, 1924 – April 17, 2021) was a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Education and early career

Wellford was born on August 6, 1924, in Memphis, Tennessee. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University in 1947. He received a Bachelor of Laws from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1950. He was in the United States Navy as an Ensign from 1944 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in Memphis from 1950 to 1970. He also was active in political affairs, managing the successful campaigns of

Howard Baker Howard Henry Baker Jr. (November 15, 1925 June 26, 2014) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1967 to 1985. During his tenure, he rose to the rank of Senate Minority Leader and then ...

for United States Senate in 1966 and Winfield Dunn for Governor of Tennessee in 1970.

Federal judicial service

Wellford was nominated by President Richard Nixon on November 24, 1970, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 1970, and received commission on December 12, 1970. His service was terminated on September 10, 1982, due to elevation to the Sixth Circuit. On August 4, 1976 President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

nominated Wellford to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to replace William Ernest Miller, who had died on April 12, 1976. Civil rights groups objected to Wellford's nomination and, with the nomination coming so late in Ford's presidency, the Senate never took a vote on his nomination before Ford left office. President Jimmy Carter declined to renominate Wellford when he took office, nominating Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. instead. On July 27, 1982, he was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge Bailey Brown. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 20, 1982, and received commission the same day. He assumed senior status on January 15, 1991.

Personal life

Wellford was married to Katherine Estes Potts Wellford, and they had five children. He died in Memphis in April 2021 at the age of 96. On September 2, 2022, his granddaughter Eliza Fletcher, a kindergarten teacher, was kidnapped, raped and murdered while out for an early morning jog in Memphis in a case that attracted national media attention.Eliza Fletcher obituary
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References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellford, Harry Walker 1924 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Military personnel from Tennessee Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Tennessee Republicans United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon United States Navy officers Vanderbilt University alumni Washington and Lee University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II

Education and early career

Federal judicial service

Personal life

See also

References

Sources