Hand Tinted Large Albumen by C. R. Rees of Mary Ella Meredith Daughter of Judge John A. Meredith

Hand Tinted Large Albumen by C. R. Rees of Mary Ella Meredith Daughter of Judge John A. Meredith – Mary Ella Meredith was the daughter of the significant, wartime, Richmond resident, Judge John A. Meredith. Judge Meredith (1814-1882) was a lawyer and delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1850-51, commonwealth’s attorney from Hanover County, and judge of the Circuit Court of Richmond from 1852-1869. He along with Richmond mayor Joseph Mayo and Judge William Henry Lyons surrendered the city to Union forces on April 3, 1865. Judge Meredith was also counsel for mayor-elect Henry K. Ellyson in the Richmond Mayoralty Case of 1870 and witnessed the “Capitol Disaster,” the collapse of the galleries in the capitol. This large, colored albumen depicts a daughter of Judge Meredith, Mary Ella, who died in Richmond, in 1864, from Typhoid Fever. Born in 1843, Mary Ella was buried in Hollywood Cemetery. The image was apparently taken by the famed Richmond photographer, C.R. Rees – it is signed in the lower right corner – “C.R. Rees & Co”; signed in the lower left corner is the name of the individual who tinted or painted the image – “W. Kopshe / Artist”. The image remains in excellent condition, with some foxing on the back. Attached to the back of the image is an old, penciled label that states:

“Mary Ella Meredith  d 186-

daughter of

Judge John A. Meredith & his

wife Sarah Ann Bernard”

This is a poignant image, representative of the war induced vicissitudes faced by even the most well-heeled of Richmond’s citizenry.

Measurements: Ht. – 17”; W – 14”

John A. Meredith (March 4, 1814 – March 15, 1882) was a nineteenth-century American politician and judge from Virginia.

Early life

Meredith was born in New Kent County, Virginia, in 1814.^[1]

Career

Soon after his admission to the bar in Hanover County, Virginia, Meredith was appointed Commonwealth’s Attorney there, holding that position until about 1850.^[2]

In 1850, Meredith was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850. He was one of six delegates elected from the central Piedmont delegate district made up of his home district of Richmond City, and including Henrico, New Kent and Charles City Counties.^[3]

Meredith was a member of the Virginia State Senate in 1851. While a state Senator, he was elected under the new Constitution of 1850 to judge of the Circuit Court of Richmond, Virginia. He was reelected to the position again by popular vote in 1860.^[4]

Though Meredith serve as a judge during the Confederate regime 1861-1865, he was appointed to the same Richmond Circuit Court by Unionist Governor Pierpont at the close of hostilities, and was then appointed by the General Assembly to continue in his office.^[5]

During Reconstruction, Meredith was appointed as head of U.S. General Halleck’s “Court of Conciliation”. He held his Circuit Court judgeship until the Radical Republican Congress removed all sitting judges in Virginia in 1869 immediately prior to the new Constitution of 1870 and the end of military occupation.^[6]

Meredith returned to private law practice until his appointment as Richmond City Attorney, and he was later elected to Richmond’s Board of Aldermen where he presided.^[7]

Death

Judge John A. Meredith died on March 15, 1882, in Richmond City, Virginia.^[8]