Harry Walker Wellford (August 6, 1924 – April 17, 2021) was a senior

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

and a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (in case citations, W.D. Tenn.) is the federal district court covering the western part of the state of Tennessee. Appeals from the Western District of Tennessee are taken t ...

Education and early career

Wellford was born on August 6, 1924, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from

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 ...

in 1947. He received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

from

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

in 1950. He was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as an Ensign from 1944 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in Memphis from 1950 to 1970. He also was active in political affairs, managing the successful campaigns of Howard Baker for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1966 and

Winfield Dunn Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn (born July 1, 1927) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 1975. He was the state's first Republican governor in fifty years.Phillip Langsdon, ''Tennesse ...

for Governor of Tennessee in 1970.

Federal judicial service

Wellford was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on November 24, 1970, to the

, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the

on December 11, 1970, and received commission on December 12, 1970. His service was terminated on September 10, 1982, due to elevation to the Sixth Circuit. On August 4, 1976 President Gerald Ford nominated Wellford to a seat on the

to replace

William Ernest Miller William Ernest Miller (February 3, 1908 – April 12, 1976) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for th ...

, who had died on April 12, 1976. Civil rights groups objected to Wellford's nomination and, with the nomination coming so late in Ford's presidency, the Senate never took a vote on his nomination before Ford left office. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

declined to renominate Wellford when he took office, nominating

Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. Gilbert Stroud Merritt Jr. (January 17, 1936 – January 17, 2022) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1977 to 2022. Early life Merritt ...

instead. On July 27, 1982, he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Bailey Brown Bailey Brown (June 16, 1917 – October 6, 2004) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and prior to that was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Weste ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 20, 1982, and received commission the same day. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 15, 1991.

Personal life

Wellford was married to Katherine Estes Potts Wellford, and they had five children. He died in Memphis in April 2021 at the age of 96. On September 2, 2022, his granddaughter Eliza Fletcher, a kindergarten teacher, was kidnapped, raped and murdered while out for an early morning jog in Memphis in a case that attracted national media attention.Eliza Fletcher obituary
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References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellford, Harry Walker 1924 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Military personnel from Tennessee Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Tennessee Republicans United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon United States Navy officers Vanderbilt University alumni Washington and Lee University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II

Education and early career

Federal judicial service

Personal life

See also

References

Sources