Hon Richard Field

JUDGE RICHARD FIELD, b. Louisville, Ky., Aug. 1, 1843; m. Lexington, Mo., May 13, 1869, Fanny Wentworth. b. March 6, 1848. Judge Richard Field was born in Louisville, Ky., and resided thre until 1853, when he moved, with his parents, to Pettis county, Missouri, where he lived upon a farm until 1862. After the death of his father, with his mother and family, returned to Louisville. He studied law—the profession of his father—and was graduated from the law department of the Louisville University, in 1865. . He at once opened a law office in Louisville, in partnership with his brother, now Judge Emmet Field, of Louisville, Ky. In 1869 he was married to Fanny Wentworth, of Lexington, Mo., daughter of Stephen G. Wentworth, a prominent banker, and the founder of Wentworth Military Academy, of Lexington, Mo. In 1869 Richard Field went for the benefit of his health to the state of Minnesota; lived in Faribault county until 1872, when he removed to Lexington, Mo., where he resumed the practice of law. In 1886 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of judge of the Circuit Court for the 6th judicial circuit ot Missouri, composed of the counties of Saline, Pettis and Lafayette, for a term of six years. He was re-elected in 1892 to the same office. During the time that Judge Richard Field was in office the county of Pettis was eliminated from the circuit, and organized into a separate circuit, on account of the growing business in the city of Sedalia. On the occasion of the retirement of Judge Field from that county the members of the bar testified to his worth in the following manner:

"By an act of the Missouri Legislature, at the last session, Pettis county was made a separate judicial circuit, necessitating the retirement from this part of the circuit of Judge Field, of the circuit court. This eminent jurist had for so many years presided over the circuit court of this circuit that the members of the Pettis county bar decided to present the retiring judge with an expression of their esteem and a substantial token of their appreciation of his services." The token selected was a solid silver water pitcher, with two silver cups. The pitcher bore the following inscription: "Judge Richard Field, from the bar and court officials of Pettis county, Mo., May, 1895." The monogram "R. F." was also engraved on the cups.

Judge Field retired from the bench in 1898, and resumed the practice of law at Lexington, having had twelve years experience in judicial life, during which time many important cases were tried before him. His judicial record is permanently written in the volumes of the law reports of Missouri from 1886 to 1900, and is a record of which any judge might be proud. He possesses in an eminent degree a calm, judicial temperament, which was of great service to him as a judge. While holding court he maintained a lofty dignity, yet coupled with an urbane and gentlemanly courtesy that invited and inspired confidence in the most timid young lawyer to address the court. lie is a forcible and eloquent speaker, and was noted for his unflinching moral courage in deciding cases as he understood the law. He is a liberal, public-spirited citizen, and one of the foremost men in his county in advocating measures relating to the public welfare. He is president of the Morrison Wentworth Bank and president of the board of trustees of Wentworth Military Academy, an elder in the Presbyterian church, and a Democrat in politics. Judge Field lives in the suburbs of Lexington, Mo., in an elegant country place, where his most agreeable and handsome wife and he dispense a generous and an elegant hospitality.

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 5 2022, 14:36:49 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Sep 17 2023, 4:12:15 UTC