John Bruce (judge) explained

John Bruce
Office:Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Term Start:February 27, 1875
Term End:October 1, 1901
Appointer:Ulysses S. Grant
Predecessor:Richard Busteed
Successor:Thomas G. Jones
Office1:Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
Term Start1:February 27, 1875
Term End1:August 2, 1886
Appointer1:Ulysses S. Grant
Predecessor1:Richard Busteed
Successor1:Seat abolished
Office2:Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
Term2:1872-1874
Birth Name:John Bruce
Birth Date:16 February 1832
Birth Place:Stirlingshire, Scotland
Death Place:Wernersville, Pennsylvania
Education:Franklin College (A.B.)
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John Bruce (February 16, 1832 – October 1, 1901) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Education and career

Born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, Bruce received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Franklin College in New Athens, Ohio in 1854 and read law to enter the bar in 1856. He was in private practice in Keokuk, Iowa from 1856 to 1862. He was in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1862 to 1865 and became a colonel. He was a farmer in Prairie Bluff, Alabama from 1866 to 1872, serving as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1872 to 1874.

Federal judicial service

Bruce was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant on February 23, 1875, to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Richard Busteed. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 27, 1875, and received his commission the same day. He was reassigned to serve only in the Middle District and Northern District on August 2, 1886. His service terminated on October 1, 1901, due to his death at the Walters Park sanitarium near Wernersville, Pennsylvania.