Samuel Heidelberg Terral (February 4, 1835 – March 20, 1903) was a justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court from 1897 until his death in 1903. Leslie Southwick
Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996
18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).

Early life and education

Born in Jasper County, Mississippi, Terral was educated in the county schools and graduated from the University of Mississippi and its law school.Thomas H. Somerville, "A Sketch of the Supreme Court of Mississippi", in

Horace W. Fuller Horace Williams Fuller (June 15, 1844 – October 26, 1901) was an American lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'', a late-19th- and early-20th century legal news and humor magazine. Life and career Born in Aug ...

, ed., '' The Green Bag'', Vol. XI (1899), p. 515. While there, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (aka

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

Career

On January 9, 1861, Terral attended the Mississippi Secession Convention, representing Clarke County where Mississippi would pass an

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

from the U.S. Terral fought for the Confederates against the U.S. during the American Civil War, enlisting in Company C of the 37th Mississippi Regiment and served as its captain until 1863, when he was promoted to the rank of major. After the war he settled permanently at Quitman, Mississippi where he engaged in the practice of law, including working as a district attorney. In 1882, after the end of Reconstruction, Terral became a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

. He then served as a circuit court judge until his 1897 elevation to the Supreme Court, by appointment of Governor

Anselm J. McLaurin Anselm Joseph McLaurin (March 26, 1848December 22, 1909) was the 34th Governor of Mississippi, serving from 1896 to 1900. Life and career McLaurin was born on March 26, 1848, in Brandon, Mississippi, the son of Ellen Caroline (Tullus) and Lauchl ...

Personal life

He died at Quitman on March 21, 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terral, S. H. 1835 births 1903 deaths Justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court University of Mississippi alumni University of Mississippi School of Law alumni Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives People from Jasper County, Mississippi People from Quitman, Mississippi 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges St. Anthony Hall