Louis S. Epes Explained

Office:Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Term Start:November 20, 1929
Term End:February 14, 1935
Predecessor:Jesse F. West
Successor:John W. Eggleston
Office1:Member of the Virginia State
Corporation Commission
Term Start1:November 16, 1925
Term End1:November 16, 1929
Predecessor1:William F. Rhea
Successor1:George C. Peery
State Senate2:Virginia
District2:9th
Term Start2:January 9, 1924
Term End2:November 1925
Preceded2:F. Percy Loth
Succeeded2:Edwin L. Kendig
State Senate3:Virginia
District3:28th
Term Start3:January 14, 1920
Term End3:January 9, 1924
Preceded3:George E. Allen
Succeeded3:W. Worth Smith, Jr.
Birth Name:Louis Spencer Epes
Birth Date:12 January 1882
Birth Place:Prince William, Virginia, U.S.
Death Place:Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Alma Mater:Hampden-Sydney College
Washington & Lee University
Spouse:Julia Pegram Bagley

Louis Spencer Epes (January 12, 1882 – February 14, 1935) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as a member of the Senate of Virginia and was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Early life and education

Epes was born in Prince William County, Virginia. He was educated in public schools in Nottoway and at Hoge Military Academy in Blackstone before he entered Hampden-Sydney College in 1898. After graduating in 1901, he taught at Homer Military Academy in Oxford, North Carolina (1901-1903); West Kentucky College, Mayfield, Kentucky (1903-1904), and conducted a private collegiate preparatory school in Helena, Arkansas (1904-1906). In 1906, he entered Washington and Lee University’s Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1907 and received his law degree in 1908. During 1907-1908, he practiced law in Lexington while completing his law course.

Career

In 1908, he entered the firm of Epes and Epes at Blackstone and he practiced there until being appointed to the Virginia State Corporation Commission in November 1925. From 1911 to 1918, he was Mayor of Blackstone, resigning in 1918 to enter the United States Army, from which he was honorably discharged on December 5, 1918. In 1919, he was elected to the Virginia State Senate from Nottoway, Lunenburg, Prince Edward, Cumberland and Amelia Counties and served two terms. Epes served on the State Corporation Commission from November 1925 to November 1929, when the governor appointed him to the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. He remained on the bench until his death.

Sources