Theodore M. Brantley (born near Lebanon

Lebanon, Tennessee

Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, February 12, 1851; died Helena

Helena, Montana

Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...

, Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

, September 16, 1922) was the longest-serving Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court

Montana Supreme Court

The Montana Supreme Court is the highest court of the Montana state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution...

, serving for 23 years (1899-1922).

Brantley came from a political family in Tennessee - two of his mother's brothers were elected governor of Tennessee (Neill S. Brown

Neill S. Brown

Neill Smith Brown was Governor of Tennessee from 1847 to 1849.-Biography:Neill Brown was born in Giles County, Tennessee. He taught school in his native county to work his way through college. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, and later fought with the 1st Tennessee in the Second Seminole War...

 in 1847, John C. Brown

John C. Brown

John Calvin Brown was a Confederate general during the American Civil War and the Governor of Tennessee from 1871 to 1875, the first Democrat to be elected to that position following the war.-Early life:...

 in 1871).
Brantley was educated at Southwestern Presbyterian University

Rhodes College

Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...

 in Clarksville, Tennessee

Clarksville, Tennessee

Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...

 and the law school of Cumberland University

Cumberland University

Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...

 in Lebanon, graduating in 1881. After practicing law for several years, Brantly became a professor of Ancient Languages, first at Illinois College

Illinois College

Illinois College is a private, liberal arts college, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church , and located in Jacksonville, Illinois. It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree . It was founded in 1829 by the Illinois Band,...

 and then at the College of Montana

College of Montana

The College of Montana was a private liberal arts college that existed in Deer Lodge, Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1878 as the "Montana Collegiate Institute," the school was the first institution of higher learning in Montana. The College of Montana name was...

 in Deer Lodge

Deer Lodge, Montana

Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,421 at the 2000 census. The city is perhaps best known as the home of the Montana State Prison, a major local employer...

. After returning to the practice of law for several years, Brantley was elected District Judge in the 3rd Judicial District of Montana in 1892 and then Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court in the November 1898 elections. He remained Chief Justice until resigning for reasons of health shortly before his death in 1922.

Brantley's brother Erskine Brantly (1850-1936) was a prominent clergyman and school official in Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. (The rest of the family seems to have preferred the spelling Brantly, without the "e". Many period sources, however, spell Theodore Brantley's name with the added "e".)

Brantley was married in 1891 to Lois Reat and had 3 children - Theodore Lee, Lois Brown, and Neill Duncan Brantly. (Note that his children seem to have reverted to the "Brantly" spelling.) Neill Duncan Brantly (1897-1972) joined the navy and became a Rear Admiral during World War II, commanding vessels at the Battle of Leyte Gulf

Battle of Leyte Gulf

The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...

. Lois Brown Brantly (1894-1972) married Francis A. Hazelbaker, who was lieutenant governor of Montana 1929-1933.