Anthony Dickinson Sayre (April 29, 1858 – November 17, 1931) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is hous ...

from 1909 to 1931.

Biography

Born in

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee () is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. ...

to parents Daniel Sayre and Musidora Sayre (née Morgan), his parents were early settlers in Alabama who moved from Ohio (father) and Tennessee (mother). He was a nephew of Senator

John Tyler Morgan John Tyler Morgan (June 20, 1824 – June 11, 1907) was an American politician was served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and later was elected for six terms as the U.S. Senator (1877–1907) ...

. After two years of private school, Sayre enrolled in

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He returned to study law under Judge Thomas Mann Arrington (1829-1895). In 1863 T.M. Arrington was a Lt. Col. in Vicksburg, MS in the Confederacy. In 1880s Judge Arrington was trial judge in Montgomery. In 1880, Sayre was admitted to the bar. For the next thirty years, he represented cities and counties in various capacities. He had served as clerk of the city court from 1883 to 1889, Montgomery County's representative in the state legislature from 1890 to 1893 and state senator from 1894 to 1897. He had served as president of the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

during his second term. He resigned from the Senate when in 1897 he was elected Montgomery city court judge, to which he was re-elected in 1903.

State Supreme Court

In 1909, Associate Justice James R. Dowdell became Chief Justice and Sayre was appointed by Governor Braxton Bragg Comer as associate justice. He served for the next 22 years. He was considered to be anti-death penalty and anti-formalist.

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

wrote in her semi-autobiographical ''Save Me the Waltz'' that Sayre was remote and distant.

Personal life

Sayre married Minerva "Minnie" Buckner Machen (1860-1958), daughter of

Willis Benson Machen Willis Benson Machen (April 10, 1810 – September 29, 1893) was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Early life Willis Benson Machen was born the son of Henry Ballenger Machen and Nancy Machen (née Tarrant) on April 10, 1810 in Caldw ...

and his third wife, the former Victoria Theresa Mims, of

Eddyville, Kentucky Eddyville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,554 at the 2010 census, up from 2,350 in 2000. The Kentucky State Penitentiary is located at Eddyville. The town is cons ...

on January 17, 1884, in Lyon County, Kentucky. They had eight children (three of whom died in infancy): Daniel Morgan Sayre (1884-1885) (died at eighteen months of spinal meningitis), Marjorie Sayre (1886-1960) (Mrs. Minor Williamson Brinson), Daniel Morgan Sayre (1887-1888) (died as an infant), Rosalind "Tootsie" Sayre (1889-1979) (Mrs. Newman Smith), Clothilde "Tilde" Sayre (1891-before 1986) (Mrs. John Munford Palmer), Anthony Dickinson Sayre Jr. (1894-1933) (died of complications from malaria), Lenora Sayre (1897-1899) (died of diphtheria at age two) and

Zelda Sayre Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald a ...

(1900-1948) (the wife of novelist

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

). He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Sayre died November 17, 1931, at age 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayre, Anthony D Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama 1858 births 1931 deaths People from Tuskegee, Alabama Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Democratic Party Alabama state senators Lawyers from Montgomery, Alabama