Richard Henry Alvey (March 26, 1826 – September 14, 1906), frequently known as R. H. Alvey, was an American jurist who served as

chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the

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of the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the state supreme court, highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The cou ...

and subsequently served as the chief justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Alvey was born in

St. Mary's County St. Mary's County may refer to: * St. Mary's County, Maryland *St. Mary's County, Utah Territory There are 29 counties in the U.S. state of Utah. There were originally seven counties established under the provisional State of Deseret in 1849: ...

, to George and Harriet Wicklin Alvey. He

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 ...

and was admitted to the

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in 1849, and began private practice in Hagerstown, Maryland the next year. From 1844 to 1850, Alvey served as a deputy within the clerk's office of

Charles County Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata, Maryland, La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, Charle ...

, Maryland. He was a

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from the state of Maryland during the election of 1852. In 1861, At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he authored the Alvey Resolution, which took a strong position in favor of

states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

. As a southern sympathizer, Alvey was arrested by

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soldiers and detained. After the Civil War, Alvey served as a delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1867, where he was Chairman of the Committee on Representation. That same year he was a member of the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

, was appointed to the

as an associate judge, and also as chief judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of

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, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. He served in that position until 1883, when he accepted a federal judicial post.

Federal judicial service

Alvey was nominated by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

on April 14, 1893, to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia (now the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

), to the new Chief Justice seat authorized by 27 Stat. 434. 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 April 15, 1893, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 1, 1905, due to his retirement.

Other service

In 1896, as Chief Justice, Alvey served as a member of an American commission tasked with resolving a

boundary dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...

between

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and

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. He served as chancellor of National University (now

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

) in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1897 to 1904.

Family

Alvey married Mary Wharton in 1856, with whom he had one child. After her death in 1860, Alvey remarried to Julia Jones Hays in 1862, with whom he had nine children. Alvey died on September 14, 1906, in Hagerstown. He was grandson of John Alvey and a descendant of John Alvey, a Revolutionary soldier in the Maryland line.

References

Sources

Biography
from the Maryland Archives * *

External links

Men of Mark in America biography
Accessed March 28, 2024. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvey, Richard H. Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Maryland Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit People from St. Mary's County, Maryland Maryland lawyers People of Maryland in the American Civil War 1826 births 1906 deaths United States federal judges appointed by Grover Cleveland 19th-century American judges Politicians from Hagerstown, Maryland United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law