Alfred Pembroke Thom (15 December 1854 – 1935) was a railroad lawyer, a civic leader of Norfolk, Virginia, a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901, and a president of The

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provi ...

Biography

Thom was born to prominent Virginia Dr. William Taylor Thom (1820-1894) in 1854. He had a brother, W T Thom II and a sister, Marion E. Thom. Thom graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and began practicing law in 1876. In 1878 Thom fought a duel. He was wounded; his opponent, Major Sidney Pitts, was killed. On 20 September 1881 Thom married Virginia W. Tunstell, the widow of Robert P. Baylor. After she died Thom married Jessie G. Thom.

Legal career

In 1883 Thom formed a law partnership in Norfolk with his brother-in-law, Richard B. Tunstall. Thom and Tunstall were among the founding directors of the Norfolk Company, which developed what is now the Ghent Historic District. One of the streets in Ghent is named after Thom. In 1901 Thom represented Norfolk at the Virginia Constitutional Convention. He created a sensation in the early stages of the Convention by proposing that the delegates should begin by taking the oath from the Underwood Constitution of 1870, which the Convention was assembled to amend. Thom's proposal was voted down, 69-14. Commenting on the legality of the Convention's purposes, Thom said: "We come here to sweep the field of expedients for the purpose of finding some constitutional method of ridding ourselves of lack enfranchisementforever; and we have the approval of the Supreme Court of the United States in making that effort." Thom was one of the founders in 1898 and the first president of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association. Thom also served as president of The

in 1904-1905. In 1913

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

conferred on Thom an honorary doctor of laws degree. Thom was Virginia counsel to the Southern Railway, and later relocated to

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, ...

, as he became general counsel to the Association of Railway Executives, which made him a spokesman for railroad interests before

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and in the national press during and after

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Alfred Virginia lawyers Delegates to Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901 20th-century American politicians University of Virginia alumni 1854 births 1935 deaths