Judge Richard Jackson Bugg

Judge Richard Jackson Bugg

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73039218/richard-jackson-bugg
• https://sites.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/carlisle/bugg.rj.txt

At the bar and on the bench Judge Richard Jackson Bugg has gained for himself a reputation as a most able lawyer, of comprehensive understanding of the principles of jurisprudence. Appointed by the governor to fill out an unexpired term on the circuit bench, he was nominated at the next regular primary election of his party in May of 1903, and was elected at the November election following, and is therefore the present incumbent in the office, which stands as the conservator of human rights and liberties, of life and happiness.

Judge Bugg, now a resident of Bardwell, was born in Blandville, Ballard County, Kentucky, July 16, 1862, and is descended from one of the old families of Virginia. His great-grandfather, Zachariah Bugg, was a native of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, whence he removed to Tennessee, settling near Gallatin, where he resided through a long period. He died at an advanced age, and thus passed away one of the prominent and influential residents of that region. His son, Richard Bugg, the grandfather of the judge, was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, and on leaving his native state took up his abode in Trigg County, Kentucky. He married Miss Prudence Chappell, a native of Christian county, this state, and for some years they resided in Trigg County.

In the schools of Blandville and in the Kentucky University at Lexington, Richard J. Bugg acquired his literary education, and then, determining to follow in the professional footsteps of his father, he became a student in the law department of the University of Louisville, where he was prepared for practice, mastering a thorough course of study. In 1885 he was admitted to the bar, and at Bardwell entered upon the practice of the law, where he soon won a large clientage, rising to prominence in his profession. As a lawyer he has had the success that might naturally be looked for where close application and immense power for work are united to mental strength and quickness, an extraordinary memory and an unappeasable appetite for the activities of the profession. His fidelity to his clients' interests was proverbial, yet he never forgot that he owed a higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. His diligence and energy in the preparation of his cases, as well as the earnestness, tenacity and courage with which he defended the right as he understood it, challenged the highest admiration of his associates, and thus it was that he gained a reputation that made him the natural selection when it became necessary for the governor to appoint someone to fill out the unexpired term of the circuit judge of the First judicial district. At the next regular election, he became the regular nominee of the Democratic party and was elected to the position which he is now so capably filling.

In 1888 Judge Bugg was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Coil, and their union has been blessed with three children: Mary, Alice and Virginia. The judge and his wife are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Master Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On the bench his services have met the most sanguine hopes of his many friends and have given excellent satisfaction to the bar and public. His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment. A judge on the bench fails more frequently, perhaps, from a deficiency in that broad-mindedness which comprehends the details of a situation quickly and that insures a complete self-control under even the most exasperating conditions, than from any other cause; and the judge who makes a success in the discharge of his multitudinous delicate duties is a man of well-rounded character, finely balanced mind and of marked intellectual attainments. That Judge Bugg is regarded as such a jurist is a uniformly accepted fact.