Alexander Rives, May 14, 1866-March 21, 1869

Alexander Rives
Painting by Louis Mathieu Didier Guillaume, 1850-1860, circa
Image courtesy Rives family

Born June 17, 1806 in Nelson County, Virginia
Died September 17, 1885 in Charlottesville, Virginia

Appointed by Governor Francis Pierpoint on May 14, 1866 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Lucas B. Thompson, and began his service on the same day. Elected by the General Assembly on December 19, 1866. Service terminated by Reconstruction and passage of a law requiring removal of any official serving in Virginia (and Texas) who had a record of service to the Confederacy.

Education:
Hampden-Sydney College, A.B., 1825
Attended the University of Virginia and studied moral philosophy and law, 1828-1829

Other judicial service:
Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia, 1871-1882

Professional career:
Planter, Albemarle County, Virginia, 1829-1871
Virginia state delegate, 1834-1835, 1838, 1841-1842, 1852-1853
Virginia state senator, 1857-1861
Rector, University of Virginia, 1865-1866

Further reading/Research collections

Sources:
Appointed, Local News, Staunton Spectator (Staunton, Va.), May 15, 1866, col. 1, retrieved on February 24, 2014, and 59 Va., iii; re-appointed and elected by the General Assembly, Journal of the Senate of Virginia, 1866-1867 Session, 82-83; dismissed, 91 Va., xix; nominated for election to a new 12-year term in 1870 and defeated by Richard Cassius Lee Moncure on March 23, 1870, Court of Appeals, col. 1, Staunton Spectator (Staunton, Va.), March 29, 1870, retrieved on February 10, 2014; see also, J. Jefferson Looney, “Burnham, Horace Blois,” in Kneebone and Bearrs, Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Richmond, Va.: Library of Virginia, 1998), v. 2, 414; and Rives, Alexander, Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, retrieved on February 24, 2014; education, Morrison, College of Hampden Sidney: Dictionary of Biography, 1776-1825, 316; attended University of Virginia, 1828-1829 and studied moral philosophy and law, Session 1, University of Virginia Catalogue, 1828-1829, University of Virginia Law Library Special Collections; portrait privately owned by Rives family descendants.