Second Court of Appeals

Justice Place 3

Sam J. Hunter (1895 to 1902)

Samuel Jackson Hunter was born on October 31, 1845, in Cumberland County, Kentucky.  He served with a Union command during the Civil War and began studying law after returning home.  He earned his LL.B. from the University of Louisville in 1873 and shortly thereafter moved to Sulphur Springs, Texas, where he opened a private law practice.  Governor O.M. Roberts appointed Justice Hunter as District Attorney for a six-county area, and he served successfully in this role for fifteen months.  He then moved to Fort Worth to resume his private law practice.  Hunter played an instrumental role in the Legislature’s decision to locate the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth, and he was appointed to the court in 1895.  He served as a justice from 1895 to 1902.  After leaving the bench, he returned to private practice and served one term in the Texas Legislature.  He passed away on January 22, 1937, in Fort Worth, Texas, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.