Harmon Caldwell Drew
Encyclopedia
Harmon Caldwell Drew was a lawyer
from Minden
, Louisiana
, who served prior to 1945 as the district attorney
of Bossier
and Webster parishes
and then as a judge of both the district and the state appeal courts. His political career ended with his defeat by future Governor Robert F. Kennon
. Drew's grandson, Harmon Drew, Jr.
, of Minden is a sitting judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeal
, based in Shreveport
.
, also a judge of the district and circuit courts, and the former Katie Caldwell (1859–1936). His paternal grandfather was Richard Maxwell Drew
, a district judge and state representative
. In 1818, R. M. Drew's father, Newett Drew, founded the Overton community, the first settlement in Webster Parish.
In 1913, Drew married the former Annie Lucile Grigsby (March 25, 1896– August 10, 1974). The couple had two children, R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
, an attorney, Minden city judge, and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
, and Katie Elizabeth Drew Carey (1915–1971), a Minden Realtor, married to and later divorced from Harvey L. Carey (1915–1984), a U.S. attorney in Shreveport
, appointed in 1950 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman
.
H. C. Drew was an early graduate, probably 1906, of Minden High School
, formerly known as the Minden Male Academy. In 1910, he graduated from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
, where he was a member of an undefeated football team. He was the starting left guard on the 1909 LSU Tigers
team. At first, Drew, a physically large man who commonly wore suspenders, practiced law in Minden with his father, whose circuit judgeship had ended in 1913. The Drew ancestral home at 1002 Broadway Street in Minden was acquired about 1915 from the Minden businessman and later city council member William L. Life (1887–1972). Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., still resides there with his wife, the former Jean Talley.
, later a U.S. representative and like Drew an intraparty opponent of the Longs
.
Two African American
men, Chester Tyson and Mark Peters, were convicted and scheduled for execution for the five murders. However, Governor John M. Parker
, acting on a recommendation from Judge Sandlin, commuted their sentences to twenty years in prison. Both were released on April 18, 1936. A petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons claimed that two white men, Henry Waller and Johnie Long, had actually planned and carried out the crime but had each received life sentences, rather than the death penalty. Long escaped in 1922 and was never apprehended, and Waller died of tuberculosis
in prison in 1926.
and then the two-term Bossier/Webster district attorney. The margin of defeat was about nine thousand votes. Because Kennon soon entered World War II
military service, he did not claim the judgeship until 1945. Therefore, Drew continued to serve as interim judge for nearly four years until Kennon returned from the military. Drew also served temporarily by appointment during the latter part of his circuit judgeship on the Louisiana Supreme Court
.
, got into a heated exchange with U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr., who had been less than fully committed to the Roosevelt agenda. In a speech in Monroe
, Long alleged that Drew had paid only $600 on an outstanding debt owed to the former Bank of Minden. The next night in Minden, accompanied by his bodyguards, Long spoke at Minden City Park. Judge Drew was there to challenge him directly. Instead, Long uttered mild remarks and did not attack the judge. After Long left the gathering, Drew told the crowd:
"I came here tonight to hear him [Long] repeat that lie in my presence, and he didn't have the nerve to do it. Louisiana must act to stop that man when he goes about the state attacking honest people. I for one do not intend to tolerate it any longer."
Coincidentally, the day after the Minden Herald published the story of the Long-Drew squabble, John L. Fort (1906–1992) of Minden, the son of then Mayor Connell Fort
and later the owner of a Minden news stand, shot to death city council member Abraham Brisco Nation (1886–1933) as a result of a political dispute between Nation and Mayor Fort. In 1937, Judge Drew was a pallbearer at the funeral of former Mayor Fort.
Drew died of lung cancer
at the age of sixty-one. He is interred in the newer section of the historic Minden Cemetery
, alongside his wife, son Harmon Drew, Sr., daughter Katie Drew Carey, and a granddaughter, Elizabeth Taylor Drew Weaver (1942–1996). In addition to Circuit Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., Judge H. C. Drew's surviving grandchildren are the Minden businessman Richard Drew Carey, Thomas Drew Carey, a dermatologist in Ruston
, Katie Lucile Carey Sims, a businesswoman in Houma
, Louisiana, and Margaret Caldwell Drew Colvin of Springhill
, Louisiana.
Three weeks after his death, Judge Drew was lauded at a memorial service at the Webster Parish Courthouse for his dedication to the law:
"Judge Drew was moved by a jealousy of the law. To him, law was the pillar of fire by night and smoke by day, ever leading him onward to the fulness of law, maturing in justice."
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
from Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served prior to 1945 as the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of Bossier
Bossier Parish, Louisiana
Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
and Webster parishes
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
and then as a judge of both the district and the state appeal courts. His political career ended with his defeat by future Governor Robert F. Kennon
Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
. Drew's grandson, Harmon Drew, Jr.
Harmon Drew, Jr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Jr. , is a Louisiana judge, legal lecturer, and rhythm-and-blues musician. He is serving a second 10-year term on his state's Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shreveport.-Ancestry:...
, of Minden is a sitting judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeal
Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal
The Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal are the intermediate appellate courts for the state of Louisiana.There are five circuits, each covering a different group of parishes...
, based in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
.
Background
Harmon C. Drew was born in Minden to Richard Cleveland DrewRichard Cleveland Drew
Richard Cleveland Drew, Sr. , also known as R. C. Drew, was a judge of the state district and circuit courts, based in Minden in northwestern Louisiana. The Drew family was among the original 19th century settlers of the future Webster Parish, of which Minden is the parish seat...
, also a judge of the district and circuit courts, and the former Katie Caldwell (1859–1936). His paternal grandfather was Richard Maxwell Drew
Richard Maxwell Drew
Richard Maxwell Drew was an attorney and politician in Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana whose family was among the first settlers of what is now Webster Parish, established in 1871 as a breakaway from Claiborne Parish....
, a district judge and state representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. In 1818, R. M. Drew's father, Newett Drew, founded the Overton community, the first settlement in Webster Parish.
In 1913, Drew married the former Annie Lucile Grigsby (March 25, 1896– August 10, 1974). The couple had two children, R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Sr. was a fourth generation judge and a former Democratic state representative who was descended from pioneer families of Webster Parish in north Louisiana...
, an attorney, Minden city judge, and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, and Katie Elizabeth Drew Carey (1915–1971), a Minden Realtor, married to and later divorced from Harvey L. Carey (1915–1984), a U.S. attorney in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, appointed in 1950 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
.
H. C. Drew was an early graduate, probably 1906, of Minden High School
Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana)
Minden High School is the public secondary educational institution in Minden, a small city of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana...
, formerly known as the Minden Male Academy. In 1910, he graduated from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, where he was a member of an undefeated football team. He was the starting left guard on the 1909 LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers are the athletic teams of Louisiana State University. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, in the Southeastern Conference. It fields teams in 14 varsity sports . Its official team nickname is the Fighting Tigers and the school mascot is Mike the Tiger...
team. At first, Drew, a physically large man who commonly wore suspenders, practiced law in Minden with his father, whose circuit judgeship had ended in 1913. The Drew ancestral home at 1002 Broadway Street in Minden was acquired about 1915 from the Minden businessman and later city council member William L. Life (1887–1972). Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., still resides there with his wife, the former Jean Talley.
Ax-murder case
On December 8, 1916, Drew assumed the post of Webster Parish district attorney. Less than a month in office, Drew was compelled to prosecute a bizarre murder case in the Grove community north of Minden. On Christmas Day of that year, the family of John Nelson Reeves, including his wife Maude and three of their four children, was bludgeoned to death by a group of ax-wielding men. The presumed motive for the killing was money that Reeves, who distrusted banks, had boasted of having stashed away in a mattress in his house. The district judge in the case was John N. SandlinJohn N. Sandlin
John Nicholas Sandlin, Sr. , of Minden, Louisiana, represented his state's Fourth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1937. In 1936, rather than seeking a ninth term in the House, Sandlin, upon the request of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt,...
, later a U.S. representative and like Drew an intraparty opponent of the Longs
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
.
Two African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
men, Chester Tyson and Mark Peters, were convicted and scheduled for execution for the five murders. However, Governor John M. Parker
John M. Parker
John Milliken Parker was an American Democratic politician from Louisiana, who served as the state's 37th Governor from 1920–1924. He was a friend and admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt....
, acting on a recommendation from Judge Sandlin, commuted their sentences to twenty years in prison. Both were released on April 18, 1936. A petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons claimed that two white men, Henry Waller and Johnie Long, had actually planned and carried out the crime but had each received life sentences, rather than the death penalty. Long escaped in 1922 and was never apprehended, and Waller died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in prison in 1926.
Judicial tenure
In 1926, Drew was elected judge of the 2nd Judicial District, renamed the 26th District, covering Bossier and Webster parishes. Drew served three years on the lower court. Soon, he was elected to the circuit court, on which he served for two six-year terms from 1930 to 1942. In 1940, Drew was defeated by Kennon, a former Minden mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and then the two-term Bossier/Webster district attorney. The margin of defeat was about nine thousand votes. Because Kennon soon entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
military service, he did not claim the judgeship until 1945. Therefore, Drew continued to serve as interim judge for nearly four years until Kennon returned from the military. Drew also served temporarily by appointment during the latter part of his circuit judgeship on the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
.
Political squabbles
In 1933, Judge Drew, who served as the president of the interest group known as the Louisiana New Deal Organization, an association committed to promoting the policies of President Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, got into a heated exchange with U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr., who had been less than fully committed to the Roosevelt agenda. In a speech in Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, Long alleged that Drew had paid only $600 on an outstanding debt owed to the former Bank of Minden. The next night in Minden, accompanied by his bodyguards, Long spoke at Minden City Park. Judge Drew was there to challenge him directly. Instead, Long uttered mild remarks and did not attack the judge. After Long left the gathering, Drew told the crowd:
"I came here tonight to hear him [Long] repeat that lie in my presence, and he didn't have the nerve to do it. Louisiana must act to stop that man when he goes about the state attacking honest people. I for one do not intend to tolerate it any longer."
Coincidentally, the day after the Minden Herald published the story of the Long-Drew squabble, John L. Fort (1906–1992) of Minden, the son of then Mayor Connell Fort
Connell Fort
Connell Fort was a businessman and newspaperman who served as the Democratic mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in north Louisiana, from 1922 to 1926 and again from 1932 to 1934....
and later the owner of a Minden news stand, shot to death city council member Abraham Brisco Nation (1886–1933) as a result of a political dispute between Nation and Mayor Fort. In 1937, Judge Drew was a pallbearer at the funeral of former Mayor Fort.
Memorial service
H. C. Drew and most of his family members were Presbyterian.Drew died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the age of sixty-one. He is interred in the newer section of the historic Minden Cemetery
Minden Cemetery
The Minden Cemetery, located in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States, has graves dating from 1843, seven years after the founding of the city in 1836...
, alongside his wife, son Harmon Drew, Sr., daughter Katie Drew Carey, and a granddaughter, Elizabeth Taylor Drew Weaver (1942–1996). In addition to Circuit Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., Judge H. C. Drew's surviving grandchildren are the Minden businessman Richard Drew Carey, Thomas Drew Carey, a dermatologist in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, Katie Lucile Carey Sims, a businesswoman in Houma
Houma, Louisiana
Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
, Louisiana, and Margaret Caldwell Drew Colvin of Springhill
Springhill, Louisiana
Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Louisiana.
Three weeks after his death, Judge Drew was lauded at a memorial service at the Webster Parish Courthouse for his dedication to the law:
"Judge Drew was moved by a jealousy of the law. To him, law was the pillar of fire by night and smoke by day, ever leading him onward to the fulness of law, maturing in justice."