William H. Seevers (1876 - 1888)

Served on the Iowa Supreme Court from February 17, 1876, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the retirement of Chester C. Cole, until December 31, 1888, For three years he was Chief Justice.

Born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, in 1820, He came to Mahaska County, Iowa, in 1843, where he was admitted to the bar in 1846 - one of the first lawyers in that county. In 1852 he was elected Judge of the District Court.

He was a member of the House of Representatives in the Seventh General Assembly, which was the first session following the adoption of the new Iowa Constitution. He was also one of the Code Com- missioners who prepared the Code of 1873, He later served as a member of the Sixteenth General Assembly.

Justice Seevers wrote the opinion on the first appeal in the famous Jones County Calf Case. This case is often cited as an outstanding example of protracted litigation. [See 63 Iowa 562; 82 Iowa 693 and 93 Iowa 165.)

He died in Oskaloosa in 1895.