History

Justice Place 2

Isaac Weatherstone Stephens (1892 to 1908)

Isaac Weatherstone Stephens was born on November 15, 1850, in Bledsoe County, Tennessee.  He attended Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1872.  He went on to read law in the office of Judge E.L. Gardenhire and eventually earned his law license.

In 1874, Stephens moved to Weatherford, Texas, and opened a law practice.  He served as Parker County attorney from 1876 to 1880 while maintaining his private law practice.

When the Texas Legislature created the First, Second, and Third Courts of Civil Appeals in 1892, Governor Stephen Hogg appointed Stephens to be one of the first associate judges of the Second Court of Civil Appeals.  Stephens was officially elected to the court in November of the same year and was reelected continuously until he retired from the bench in 1908.

After retiring from court, he joined the firm of Stephens and Miller. He continued to practice law until his retirement in 1930.  He died on July 17, 1945, and was buried in City Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford.

ISAAC WETHERSTONE STEPHENS 1850 – 1945 | Hood County Genealogical/Historical Society