James Mason Arnold (October 21, 1838 – July 9, 1897)Judge James Mason Arnold
, ''The Pascagoula Chronicle'' (July 16, 1897), p. 2.Death of Judge J. M. Arnold
, ''The Enterprise-Tocsin'' (July 15, 1897), p. 1.Judge James Mason Arnold
, ''The Weekly Corinthian'' (July 17, 1897), p. 6. was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1885 to 1887, and chief justice from 1887 to 1889. Leslie Southwick
Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996
18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).Thomas H. Somerville, "A Sketch of the Supreme Court of Mississippi", in Horace W. Fuller, ed., '' The Green Bag'', Vol. XI (1899), p. 514.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Elbert County, Georgia to Wilton Jackson Arnold and Edna Ann Beall Arnold, the family moved to a Mississippi farm during Arnold's infancy.Dunbar Rowland, ''Courts, Judges, and Lawyers of Mississippi, 1798-1935'' (Hederman Press, Jackson, Mississippi, 1935), p. 117-119. Initially educated at a free church-based school at Concord Church, Arnold gained the support of a teacher at a private high school who allowed Arnold to attend in exchange for Arnold teaching primary school classes there. The following year, he returned to Concord Church to teach, thereafter attended the University of Mississippi from 1855 until his graduation in 1858. Arnold then returned to teaching at Concord Church until the beginning of the American Civil War, when he enlisted in the Confederate States Army.

Military, legislative, and judicial service

Arnold "served as a private in the Columbus Riflemen, Company K, Fourteenth Mississippi Regiment, throughout the war, except during the period of his imprisonment at Camp Douglas, Chicago, after the fall of Fort Donelson". In 1863, he was elected to represent Lowndes County, Mississippi, in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

, though he refused a proffered exemption from military service for members, continuing to serve in the army when the legislature was not in session. Following the war, he was elected to a second term in the legislature, and gained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterwa ...

. Entering the practice of law, Arnold was reported to be "an able member of the Columbus bar". Arnold was the circuit judge of the first judicial district for a number of years, and according to one source, "bore the reputation of being one of the best the State ever had". On January 7, 1885, Governor Robert Lowry appointed Arnold to the state supreme court, and in 1887, Arnold became chief justice. He served in that capacity until October 1, 1889, when he resigned to resume the practice of law. After leaving the bench he settled in Birmingham, Alabama, and continued in practice until his death.

Personal life and death

Arnold married Orline Lowry, daughter of Colonel Robert Lowry of Baldwyn, Mississippi, with whom he had two daughters. After Orline's death, Arnold married her sister, Florence Lowry, with whom he had two daughters and three sons, one of whom died in infancy. Arnold died in Birmingham in the summer of 1897, at the age of 58, after a long illness. His remains were brought to

, for interment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, James M. Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court 1838 births 1897 deaths University of Mississippi alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Confederate States Army personnel Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Chief justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court