Junius Marion Futrell (August 14, 1870 – June 20, 1955) was an American attorney who served as the 30th governor of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

from 1933 to 1937, and the

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...

for a short period in 1913.

Early life

Futrell was born in Jones Ridge in Greene County in northeastern Arkansas to parents Jepthra and Arminia Levonica Eubanks Futrell. The second of three children, he attended the Arkansas Industrial University, now the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M) ...

, from 1892 to 1893. After his sophomore year, he taught school in several Arkansas counties until 1896, marrying Tera A. Smith on September 27, 1893. Futrell also farmed and worked in the timber industry before entering politics.

Career

Futrell was elected to the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

and served from 1896 to 1904. He was elected Circuit Court Clerk from 1906 to 1910. Futrell was elected to the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

and served from 1913 to 1917. He was the Senate President from 1915 to 1917. While President of the Senate, he served as acting governor for four months in 1913 after Governor

Joseph Taylor Robinson Joseph Taylor Robinson (August 26, 1872 – July 14, 1937), also known as Joe T. Robinson, was an American politician from Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1937, servin ...

resigned. Futrell was

admitted 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 ...

in Arkansas in 1913 and practiced law in

Paragould Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas delta ...

until his 1922 appointment to the Second Division of the Second Circuit Court. In 1923, he moved to the Twelfth Chancery Circuit. Futrell was elected to a full term as governor in his own right in the 1932 election and reelected in 1934. In the 1932

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, Futrell defeated the

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 ...

J. O. Livesay, a lawyer from

Foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...

, who had also been the gubernatorial nominee against

Harvey Parnell Harvey Parnell (February 28, 1880 – January 16, 1936) was an American farmer and politician from Southeast Arkansas. Parnell served in the Arkansas General Assembly for eight years, first in the Arkansas House of Representatives, and later ser ...

in 1930. Livesay finished the race with 8.9 percent of the vote, less than half his percent polled in 1930. As governor, he opposed state funding for education beyond the eighth grade, believing the federal government should provide such support. The Futrell administration established the Arkansas State Planning Board and created the Arkansas Department of Public Welfare. His administration also rescinded

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

and instituted some legalized gambling. After leaving office, Futrell returned to the practice of law.

Death

Futrell died in 1955 in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

and is interred at Linwood Cemetery in

. He had suffered a severe stroke on July 4, 1948. Survivors included two sons and four daughters.

References

External links

Old State House Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Futrell, Junius Marion 1870 births 1955 deaths Acting Governors of Arkansas Arkansas lawyers Arkansas state court judges Democratic Party Arkansas state senators Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Farmers from Arkansas People from Greene County, Arkansas Schoolteachers from Arkansas University of Arkansas School of Law alumni

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links