John Erskine (September 13, 1813 – January 27, 1895) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from cases ...

and the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (in case citations, S.D. Ga.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

Education and career

Born on September 13, 1813, in Strabane,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Erskine

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 ...

in 1846. He entered private practice in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from 1846 to 1855. He continued private practice in

Newnan Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010. History Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Coun ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

starting in 1855, and in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia until 1865.

Federal judicial service

Erksine received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...

from President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

on July 10, 1865, to a joint seat on the

and the

vacated by Judge John Cochran Nicoll. He was nominated to the same position by President Johnson on December 20, 1865. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on January 22, 1866, and received his commission the same day. He was reassigned to serve only in the Southern District on April 25, 1882. His service terminated on December 1, 1883, due to his retirement.

Death

Erskine died on January 27, 1895, in Atlanta. The following year, the

Erskine Memorial Fountain The Erskine Memorial Fountain is a public fountain in Grant Park of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Designed by J. Massey Rhind in honor of John Erskine, it was the first public fountain in Atlanta. The fountain was built in 1896 and moved ...

, the first public fountain in Atlanta, was dedicated in his honor. The fountain is today located in Grant Park.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, John 1813 births 1895 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia United States federal judges appointed by Andrew Johnson 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Strabane Irish emigrants to the United States Lawyers from County Tyrone