Alexander Pope Humphrey (1848 – 1928), was an American lawyer and judge. He attended

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...

in Danville, Kentucky and the

University of Virginia law school The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

Career

Humphrey was a chancellor of the

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

chancery court (a court of equity), having been appointed at age 32 to fill the unexpired term of Judge Horatio Washington Bruce, who had resigned on March 10, 1880, to accept a position as attorney for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. A journal, The ''

Virginia Law Review The ''Virginia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was established on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year. The stated objective of the ''Virginia Law Revie ...

'', published Humphrey's record in the ''

Virginia Law Register The ''Virginia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was established on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year. The stated objective of the ''Virginia Law Revie ...

'' on the impeachment of

Samuel Chase Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of t ...

. Humphrey was a member of the law firm Humphrey, Crawford, and Middleton, and was counsel to the Southern Railway Company and other corporations. He was also a member of the law firm Barr, Goodloe & Humphrey. After retiring from the bench, he was a member of the law firm Brown, Humphrey & Davie. Following the death of his law partner Colonel John Mason Brown, he continued to practice with George M. Davie. He was the half-brother of Judge

Edward William Cornelius Humphrey Edward William Cornelius Humphrey (May 23, 1844 – March 22, 1917), also known as "Alphabet Humphrey" and "Judge Humphrey", was a theological and legal scholar and influential member of the National Presbyterian General Assembly. A Harvard g ...

(1844–1917), whose son Edward Porter Humphrey (1873–1955) he invited as the third partner to the newly named firm of Humphrey, Davie, and Humphrey. Humphrey delivered the annual address before the Virginia State Bar Association at

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs has several historic resorts, f ...

on August 3, 1899. This was an address which was later printed in the ''

'' and ''

''.

Family

Humphrey was the only son of Kentuckians Rev. Dr. Edward Porter Humphrey and his second wife, Martha Ann Fontaine Pope Humphrey. The wedding of Alexander and Mrs. Humphrey's daughter Ethel to Mr. Edward Mellon of

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, grandson of

Thomas Mellon Thomas Mellon (February 3, 1813 – February 3, 1908) was an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge, best known as the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Early life Mellon was born to farmers Andrew Mell ...

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the

Mellon family The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with prominent members in the judicial, banking, financi ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, was held at her parents' spacious home, "Fincastle", in

Glenview, Kentucky Glenview is a 6th-class city along the southern bank of the Ohio River in northeastern Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States The population was 531 at the 2010 census. Glenview has the 2nd-highest per capita income within Kentucky and th ...

. The wedding is described in detail in the ''

Leavenworth Times ''Leavenworth Times'' is an American daily newspaper published in Leavenworth, Kansas. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. Founded in 1856 by future United States Senator Robert Crozier, the ''Times'' claims to be the oldest daily newspaper in Kan ...

'', a Kansas newspaper.

The Filson Club

Humphrey was one of the organizers of the Filson Club, Louisville's privately operated history society, historical museum, and archive, in the Ferguson Mansion in Old Louisville, now known as the Filson Historical Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Alexander Pope Lawyers from Louisville, Kentucky Centre College alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Kentucky lawyers Kentucky state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 1848 births 1928 deaths Members of the Salmagundi Club