Freeman Walker Compton (January 15, 1824 – May 28, 1893)[1] was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1859 to 1864, again from 1866 to 1868, and again in 1874.
Born in Orange County, North Carolina,[1] [2] he "received a good education in the schools of his native state",[3] and attended the law school operated by North Carolina Chief Justice Richmond Mumford Pearson, graduating in 1844.[1] [3]
He settled at Greeneville, Tennessee, where he was admitted to the bar, and practiced law until 1849, when he moved to Arkansas. There, he first settled at Princeton, Dallas County, where he practiced law until 1852, when he moved to Camden, Arkansas.[1] [3]
Historian Fay Hempstead described Compton's reputation as a lawyer:
Compton was a loquacious speaker and it took him time to gather his thoughts, but his writing was described as "remarkably terse and clear; never using a superfluous word".[3]
In 1858 be was elected as an associate justice of the state supreme court, and in 1866 was again elected to the court, but was ousted in 1868 by Reconstruction era measures.[1] [3] After the war, he took up his residence at Little Rock, where he remained in the practice of law until his death,[1] [3] aside from a brief reappointment to the court in June 1874.[4]
Compton had a wife, who died before him, with whom he had three daughters.[1]
He suffered from Bright's disease, which contributed to his death from pneumonia, at his home in Little Rock, at the age of 69.[1] His residence was at Ninth and Bishop streets. He was interred at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock, and various resolutions were prepared in his honor by the state.[5]