George Moffett Harrison


Hon. George Moffett Harrison was a Virginia lawyer and judge who served for 22 years as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals. He served briefly as the President of the Court from November 16, 1916 to March 6, 1917, before his resignation from the judiciary.

Biography

George Moffett Harrison was born at Staunton, Virginia, on February 14, 1847. His father was Henry Harrison, of West Hill, near Staunton, Virginia, and his grandfather was Carter Henry Harrison, of Clifton, Cumberland County, Virginia, and he was descended from the lower James River Family of Harrisons. Numbered among his ancestors were Isham Randolph, Robert "King" Carter, Jaquelin Ambler and Myles Cary. His mother was Jane St. Clair Cochran, a daughter of George Moffett Cochran, Sr., and his wife, Maria T. Boys, daughter of Dr. William Boys, of Philadelphia & Staunton. His maternal great grandfather, whose name he bore, was Col. George Moffett, a distinguished officer in the Colonial forces and the Revolutionary Army.
He received his early education in the home of his father who was said to be a wonderful man who took great joy in teaching his own children. When a boy sixteen years of age, young Harrison enlisted in the Signal Corps of the Confederate Army, then joined a military company composed of Augusta County boys, all of whom were under eighteen years of age. He was later transferred to the Fredericksburg Artillery, sometimes known as Braxton's Battery, with whom he served until the surrender at Appomattox. As his messmate in the Fredericksburg Artillery, Hon. John D. Goolrick wrote of him, "loyally, lovingly, patriotically he served the cause of the Confederacy until taps were sounded over our hopes at Appomattox. There was no braver soldier under the Stars and Bars."
After the war, Mr. Harrison returned to his father's farm and resumed his studies, then taught school for two years, and in 1869 entered the University of Virginia Law School. Upon completing law course, he opened his office in Staunton. It was said that Staunton, at that day, had the leading Bar in the State, but young Harrison, a hard student and always putting forth his best efforts, soon took a leading stand at the Bar and appeared as counsel in many important cases.
For a number of years he was associated in the practice of law with Hon. Henry St. George Tucker, III, under the firm name of Harrison & Tucker. He achieved a reputation for sound knowledge of the law, painstaking industry, and unusual judgement. While a practitioner at the Bar, he took an active interest in politics, though he never sought nor held a political office. He was not only a convincing speaker on the hustings in numerous political campaigns, but was a wise advisor in the councils of the Democratic party.
In 1894, the legislature met and elected judges to the Supreme Court of Appeals to succeed the Readjuster Court, and it worthily executed the commission of the people in selecting the new members. Those elected to take office in January, 1895, were Judge James Keith, of Fauquier, who became its first president; George Moffett Harrison of Staunton; Hon. John W. Riely, of Halifax; Hon. John A. Buchanan, of Washington, and Hon. R. H. Cardwell, of Hanover. All of these judges served for more than twenty years except for Judge Riely, who died in 1901 and was replaced by Stafford G. Whittle, of Martinsville.
Judge Harrison was the youngest member of this court, which has been considered by the profession one of the ablest in the history of Virginia. It was also the handsomest. In this connection the story is told that Hon. Charles Francis Adams, in being shown around the State Capitol was taken in to see the Court of Appeals then in session. He remarked on the striking appearance of the members of the Court and expressed amazement when told that all of the five judges had been privates in the Confederate Army.
Judge Harrison's judicial career was characterized by the same diligence, sound judgement and knowledge of the law which marked practice of his profession. He had that true legal instinct which enabled him to arrive at the very heart of a case and to apply settled principles to its determination. His opinions were written in a vigorous, clear and concise style and he took pride in the fact that in his many opinions no dictum could be found. He had been on the bench only a few months when he wrote the opinion in Nicholas v. Commonwealth, 91 Virginia Report 741, which stamped him not only as an able judge but as possessed of good literary style. The facts of the Nicholas case are so ably presented that they seize the reader's imagination and the circumstantial evidence as detailed is convincing. With him, it has been said, logical conclusions were moral convictions, and to abide reflect the purity and simplicity of his character, the courage and integrity of his convictions.
On March 1, 1917, at seventy years of age, and after having served more than twenty two years on the court, the last two as its President, Judge Harrison resigned and returned to private life. At his retirement, Judge James Keith, his associate for many years, wrote of him, "during his long service upon the bench he delivered many opinions of great importance which will serve as precedents and constitute a valuable contribution to the law of the State. His opinions are written in a most attractive style, displaying a clear and comprehensive grasp of his subject and an admirable accuracy and lucidity of statement and a soundess of judgement rarely found in combination."
Judge Harrison was a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Staunton and for years a vestryman of his parish. He was married September 23, 1874, at Bellefield, Wythe County, Virginia, to Betty Montgomery Kent, the eldest daughter of Col. Joseph F. Kent, a distinguished Confederate officer. His children are Mrs. Hon. James Quarles and Mrs. Clarke Worthington, of Staunton, and Joseph Kent Harrison of Butler, Pa. Judge Harrison died in Stuanton, Virginia, on November 22, 1923. - Proceedings of the Virginia State Bar Association, 1942
George M. Harrison is the great-great grandfather to actor Edward Harrison Norton.