Okey Johnson (born

Long Reach Long Reach or Longreach may refer to: Places *Long Reach, Columbia, Maryland, United States * Long Reach, Kent, UK *Long Reach, at Gravesend, Kent, UK *Long Reach, West Virginia, United States * Longreach, Queensland, Australia *Long Reach, Tasmani ...

in what was then the state of Virginia, March 24, 1834; died New York City,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, June 16, 1903) was a lawyer, politician, judge, and educator in the state of West Virginia. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from January 1, 1877, to December 31, 1888. After graduating from Marietta High School across the river in Ohio in 1856, Johnson entered

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, earning a degree in 1858. After several years farming and undertaking trading voyages on riverboats, he established a law practice in

Parkersburg Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metro ...

in May 1862. An active

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 ...

, Johnson was an elector for George B. McClellan in 1864. Johnson was elected to the state senate in 1870 and to the constitutional convention of 1872. In 1876 he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals, serving a 12-year term. In 1896 Johnson served on a committee of the West Virginia Academy of Science to inquire into forest protection and draft legislation to set aside forest reservations in the state. Johnson served as the dean of the West Virginia University College of Law from 1895 to 1903.http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2008/04/04/6670 WVU Today, April 4, 2008, "WVU selects distinguished scholar to lead College of Law" He died in New York City after having surgery there. Johnson married Sarah Elizabeth Stephenson (1836-1921), widow of Benjamin Jackson. They had five children.

References

People from Tyler County, West Virginia Harvard Law School alumni West Virginia state senators Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1834 births 1903 deaths West Virginia University College of Law faculty 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges People from Parkersburg, West Virginia {{US-state-judge-stub