Linton Stephens (July 1, 1823 – July 14, 1872)"Political Items", ''The Paola Western Spirit'' (July 19, 1872), p. 1. was a Georgia lawyer and politician who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1859 to 1860.

Biography

Stephens was the brother of Alexander H. Stephens. Their father died on May 7, 1826, and their mother died seven days later, leaving them orphaned before Stephens was three years old. Stephens had two siblings and two half-siblings, and the family was broken up, with the children sent to live with kin on the side of their respective mothers. Stephens went to his grandmother and a maiden aunt on his mother's side, where he remained for nearly four years. In 1830, the administration of his father's estate was wound up, with each child receiving four hundred and forty-four dollars. Stephens was transferred to the guardianship of his uncle, John W. Lindsay of Upson County, Georgia. There Stephens first went to school. In 1836, he entered the academy at Culloden for a year only, and the following autumn, he was transferred to the guardianship of his brother, Alexander, in Crawfordville, Georgia.James D. Waddell,
Biographical Sketch of Linton Stephens
' (Atlanta: Dodson & Scott, 1877). {{quote, Then and there it was "his youth awoke first and fully to the life of the mind" under the tutelage of Colonel Simpson Fouche, head of a large and excellent school at Crawfordville, where Stephens was prepared for admission to college. Stephens graduated from Georgia State University in 1843, and then attended law lectures at the University of Virginia, thereafter moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to study under U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story until Story's death in 1845. Stephens then returned to Georgia, gaining

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 ...

in 1847, and entering the practice of law. Stephens "at once went into a lucrative practice"."Hon. Linton Stephens", ''The Daily Constitutionalist and Republic'' (June 4, 1859), p. 2. {{PD-notice In June 1859, Governor Joseph E. Brown appointed Stephens to a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court vacated by the resignation of

Charles James McDonald Charles James McDonald (July 9, 1793December 16, 1860) was an American attorney, jurist and politician. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina and moved with his family to Hancock County, Georgia in 1794. He served as a brigadier general i ...

. Linton served for fourteen months, resigning in August 1860.''Tennessee Baptist'' (August 4, 1860), p. 3.

Personal life and death

In 1852, Stephens married Emmeline Bell, widow of George Bell and daughter of Georgia judge James Thomas. Emmeline died in 1857, though Stephens afterwards remained close with Judge Thomas. Stephens died of "congestion of the brain" at Sparta, Georgia, at the age of 49.

References

{{reflist {{s-start {{s-off {{succession box , title= Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia , before=

, after=

Charles J. Jenkins Charles Jones Jenkins (January 6, 1805June 14, 1883) was an American politician from Georgia. A Democrat, Jenkins served as Attorney General of Georgia from 1831–1834. He then went on to serve as Governor of Georgia from December 14, 1865 to ...

, years=1859–1860 {{s-end {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Linton 1823 births 1872 deaths Georgia State University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)