Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy (January 17, 1886 – May 17, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician in the
U.S. state of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
. He was a prominent lawyer in
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
, where he practiced law for over 50 years. Born in
Romney in 1886, Flournoy was the son of
West Virginia State Senator Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy. Flournoy was a grandson of
Hampshire County Clerk of Court
John Baker White and a nephew of
West Virginia Attorney General Robert White and West Virginia Fish Commission President
Christian Streit White
Christian Streit White (March 10, 1839 – January 28, 1917) was an American military officer, lawyer, court clerk, pisciculturist, and politician in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia.
During the American Civil War, White served ...
. He was also a relative of
Thomas Flournoy
Thomas Stanhope Flournoy (December 15, 1811 – March 12, 1883) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia and a cavalry officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Biography
Born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Fl ...
,
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Virginia.
Flournoy relocated with his family to Charleston in 1890 during his father's second West Virginia Senate term. Flournoy was educated at
Fishburne Military School
Fishburne Military School (FMS) is a private, military boarding school for boys in Waynesboro, Virginia, United States. It was founded by James A. Fishburne in 1879 and is one of the oldest military schools in the country.
History
James A. ...
,
Hampden–Sydney College
gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts men's college
, religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA)
, endowment = $258 million (2021)
, president = Larry Stimpert
, city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia
, cou ...
, and
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
College of Law
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
. He was admitted to the
Kanawha County
Kanawha County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charlest ...
bar in 1911 and at various times during his law career, Flournoy was appointed
special master,
arbitrator, or
commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
for several high-profile court cases. In 1935, Flournoy was an unsuccessful
Democratic candidate for an at-large seat on the Charleston City Council. In 1937, Flournoy was selected by Governor
Homer A. Holt
Homer Adams Holt (March 1, 1898January 16, 1975) was a West Virginia lawyer and politician who served as that state's 20th governor from 1937 to 1941. Born in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he attended the Greenbrier Military School there and the ...
as a member of the Charleston Civil Service Board, which regulated the appointments of police and fire personnel. Flournoy served as an incorporator of the New Homes Corporation of Charleston in 1931 and was later president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation. He was involved in the establishment of a local mortgage business association in 1952. Flournoy died in Charleston in 1961.
Early life and education
Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy was born on January 7, 1886, in
Romney, West Virginia.
[ ] He was the son of
West Virginia State Senator Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy and his wife Frances "Fannie" Ann Armstrong White.
Through his mother, Flournoy was a grandson of
Hampshire County Clerk of Court
John Baker White and a nephew of
West Virginia Attorney General Robert White and West Virginia Fish Commission President
Christian Streit White
Christian Streit White (March 10, 1839 – January 28, 1917) was an American military officer, lawyer, court clerk, pisciculturist, and politician in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia.
During the American Civil War, White served ...
.
Through his father, he was a relative of
Thomas Flournoy
Thomas Stanhope Flournoy (December 15, 1811 – March 12, 1883) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia and a cavalry officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Biography
Born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Fl ...
,
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Virginia.
Flournoy was of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
ancestry
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
through his father, and of
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
and
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
ancestry through his mother.
In 1890, during his father's second term in the West Virginia Senate, Flournoy and his family relocated from Romney to
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
, where his father continued practicing law after his resignation from the senate.
![Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Samuel_Lightfoot_Flournoy.png)
Flournoy received his primary education at
Fishburne Military School
Fishburne Military School (FMS) is a private, military boarding school for boys in Waynesboro, Virginia, United States. It was founded by James A. Fishburne in 1879 and is one of the oldest military schools in the country.
History
James A. ...
in
Waynesboro, Virginia.
Following his graduation from the military school, he received his secondary education at his father's alma mater
Hampden–Sydney College
gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts men's college
, religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA)
, endowment = $258 million (2021)
, president = Larry Stimpert
, city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia
, cou ...
in
Hampden Sydney, Virginia
Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census.
Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...
, and went on to study jurisprudence at the
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
College of Law
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
in
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...
.
Flournoy was a member of the
Chi Phi fraternity.
Career
Law career
Flournoy became a member of the
Kanawha County
Kanawha County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charlest ...
bar in 1911 and commenced the practice of law in Charleston.
[ ] Flournoy was a partner in the Charleston law firm of Flournoy and Porter, where he practiced law for over 50 years.
[ ]
At various times during his law career, Flournoy was appointed
special master,
arbitrator, or
commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
for several high-profile court cases. In 1932, Flournoy was appointed special master in a suit involving the estate of Mercy J. Keller, the widow of
Benjamin Franklin Keller
Benjamin Franklin Keller (April 21, 1857 – August 8, 1921) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Education and career
Born in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, Keller receive ...
, a judge for the
.
[ ] Flournoy authored a report allowing for the distribution of funds to Keller's heirs and beneficiaries from Charleston National Bank.
In December 1932, Flournoy provided mediation for several business and home owners who sued the city of Charleston over the widening of Virginia Street between Summers and Capitol Streets.
[ ] He was unable to attend one of the lawsuit mediation conferences due to an ankle injury.
In addition to his role as a special master and mediator, Flournoy was also selected to serve as a special commissioner in several Charleston lawsuits.
[ ]
Flournoy continued to expand his law practice by winning large contracts. In March 1933, he offered the lowest bid of $3,745 for a contract that supplied certificates of land title in Kanawha and Fayette counties within the Huntington federal engineering district.
[ ] The lands within the federal engineering district were to be utilized by the Federal government for river work.
Political career
In 1935, Flournoy was a
West Virginia Democratic Party candidate for an at-large seat on the Charleston City Council.
[ ][ ][ ] Flournoy actively campaigned for the at-large seat, and spoke to several local organizations, including the First Ward Negro Democratic Club and Beck's Mission on Charleston's West Side.
Flournoy was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid for election to the at-large city council seat.
During a controversial re-indexing of Kanawha County records by
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
officials in 1935 and 1936, Flournoy served as chairman of the Charleston Bar Association's Re-Indexing Committee, which completed an independent investigation of the re-indexing progress, as ordered by the bar association's executive committee.
[ ][ ] Under Flournoy's leadership, the committee completed its review in January 1936.
In 1937, Flournoy was appointed by West Virginia Governor
Homer A. Holt
Homer Adams Holt (March 1, 1898January 16, 1975) was a West Virginia lawyer and politician who served as that state's 20th governor from 1937 to 1941. Born in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he attended the Greenbrier Military School there and the ...
as an at-large member of Charleston's Civil Service Board, which had been empowered by an act of the
West Virginia Legislature to regulate the appointment of police and fire personnel in Charleston.
[ ] While serving on the board, Flournoy was its president and spokesperson.
[ ]
Business career
On July 14, 1931, Flournoy was an incorporator of the New Homes Corporation of Charleston, a building and construction firm, which was headquartered in the Davidson Building and was chartered with a capital stock value of $50,000.
[ ] Flournoy was later president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation of Charleston.
In his role as president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation, Flournoy was involved in the establishment of a local association of mortgage businesspeople in February 1952.
[ ] Flournoy was named by the association as one of three men appointed to the by-laws committee.
Later life and death
At the time of his appointment to the Charleston Civil Services Board, Flournoy resided at 8 California Avenue near the
West Virginia Capitol Complex in Charleston.
He later relocated to 4100 Kanawha Avenue SE in Charleston's
Kanawha City neighborhood, where he resided at the time of his death.
Flournoy died of
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or (formerly) fibrosing alveolitis, is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is ...
at the age of 75 on May 17, 1961, at Kanawha Valley Memorial Hospital in Charleston following a prolonged illness.
He was survived by his wife, his son, and his sister Frances Flournoy Preston.
Flournoy's funeral services were held at the Barlow-Bonsall Funeral Home and his family requested that memorial donations be made to Marmet Hospital in his honor.
He was interred at
Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston on May 19, 1961.
At the opening of the September 1961 term of the Kanawha County Circuit Court, Flournoy was eulogized by Kanawha County Bar Association member Roy M. Sams.
Personal life
Flournoy married Sarah Katharine Cotton in Charleston in 1913.
He and Katharine had two children, one son and one daughter:
* Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy, Jr. (March 23, 1924 – December 27, 2014), married Virginia McManaway Cox of
Thaxton, Virginia on June 14, 1964
[ ]
* Nancy Margaret Cotton Flournoy Moore, married Webster Hamilton Moore of
Greensboro, North Carolina, on December 3, 1949
[ ]
Flournoy was a practicing
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and was a member of the Ruffner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charleston.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flournoy, Samuel Lightfoot 02
1886 births
1961 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American politicians
20th-century Presbyterians
American people of English descent
American people of French descent
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Swiss descent
Burials at Spring Hill Cemetery (Charleston, West Virginia)
Businesspeople from Charleston, West Virginia
Fishburne Military School alumni
Hampden–Sydney College alumni
Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia
People from Romney, West Virginia
Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia
Presbyterians from West Virginia
Robert White family of Virginia and West Virginia
West Virginia Democrats
West Virginia lawyers
West Virginia University College of Law alumni