John Bruce (judge)

John Bruce
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
In office February 27, 1875 – October 1, 1901
Appointed by	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Richard Busteed
Succeeded by	Thomas G. Jones
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
In office February 27, 1875 – August 2, 1886
Appointed by	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Richard Busteed
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
In office 1872-1874
Personal details
Born	John Bruce (1832-02-16)February 16, 1832 Stirlingshire, Scotland
Died	October 1, 1901(1901-10-01) (aged 69) Wernersville, Pennsylvania
Education	Franklin College (A.B.) read law

John Bruce (February 16, 1832 – October 1, 1901) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Education and career

Born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, Bruce received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Franklin College in New Athens, Ohio in 1854 and read law to enter the bar in 1856. He was in private practice in Keokuk, Iowa from 1856 to 1862. He was in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1862 to 1865 and became a colonel. He was a farmer in Prairie Bluff, Alabama from 1866 to 1872, serving as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1872 to 1874.

Federal judicial service

Bruce was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant on February 23, 1875, to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Richard Busteed. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 27, 1875, and received his commission the same day. He was reassigned to serve only in the Middle District and Northern District on August 2, 1886. His service terminated on October 1, 1901, due to his death at the Walters Park sanitarium near Wernersville, Pennsylvania.

Sources

• John Bruce at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.