Joel West Flood (August 2, 1894 – April 27, 1964), the brother of Henry De La Warr Flood and uncle of

Harry Flood Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...

, was a Virginia lawyer and judge and briefly

United States Representative 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 ...

from Virginia.

Early and family life

He was born near Appomattox,

Appomattox County, Virginia Appomattox County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is part of the Lynchburg, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is the town of Appom ...

on August 2, 1894, to former

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

Major and

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

member Joel Walker Flood (1839-1916) and his second (or third) wife, Sallie Whiteman Delk, whom he had married in Philadelphia in 1892. Joel Flood had an elder half siblings Eleanor Bolling Flood Byrd (1864-1957)) and Henry De La Warr Flood (1866 -1921). He attended public schools in Appomattox and

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, before receiving an

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

. He also attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

(receiving a law degree) and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Career

After his father's death and his own admission to the Virginia bar in 1917, Flood began a legal practice in Appomattox, Virginia. He also took over what remained of the family plantation. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Flood served from March 29, 1918, until his discharge July 18, 1919, as a private in Company A, Three Hundred and Fifth Engineers, Eightieth Division. Appomattox County voters elected Flood

Commonwealth 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 l ...

in 1919, a position once held by his elder half-brother Henry D. Flood. He was re-elected multiple times and served until November 8, 1932. Also, upon returning to Virginia, Flood became a member of the unofficial

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

created by his nephew

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...

upon the demise of Sen.

Thomas Staples Martin Thomas Staples Martin (July 29, 1847November 12, 1919) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Albemarle County, Virginia, who founded a political organization that held power in Virginia for decades (later becoming known as t ...

. Joel Flood also served as an assistant to Governor E. Lee Trinkle of Virginia in 1922–1926, and as special assistant to the

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...

from April 1, 1928, to July 1, 1932. Elected to Congress as 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 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry St. George Tucker, he served from November 8, 1932, to March 3, 1933 (in the Seventy-second Congress). The seat was eliminated due to restructuring after the 1930 census. Flood was not a candidate for election to the Seventy-third Congress, but returned to his legal practice and agricultural pursuits. He also served as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1936. He was appointed assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Virginia and served from June 1, 1939, to January 28, 1940. Virginia legislators elected him as a judge of the fifth judicial circuit of Virginia in January 1940, in which capacity he served until his death.

Death and legacy

Joel Flood died in the Richmond Veterans Administration hospital Chesterfield, Virginia on April 27, 1964, of pneumonia and a heart condition, survived by his widow, Dorothy E. Flood. He is interred in the Flood Mausoleum, Appomattox Courthouse Square.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flood, Joel West 1894 births 1964 deaths County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia Virginia lawyers Washington and Lee University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford People from Appomattox County, Virginia