Humphreys

taineer, and there was something elemental also
in the scope and profundity of his mind The
variety of his intellectual capacities, and the
breadth and accuracy of his information were
phenomenal. During his long career as a teach-
er of the classics, he declined university profes-
sorships in English, in modern languages and in
physics; gave courses in Hebrew, botany, and
mathematics; and twice declined the presidency
of a state university. In his special field his
achievement must be rated high. His interests
were predominantly linguistic rather than liter-
ary, but his contributions cover a wide range.
His monographs are to be found mainly in the
Transactions end Proceedings of the American
Philological Association, of which organization
he was president in 1882-83, and in the American
Journal of Philology. A chapter of his doctoral
dissertation, published under the title De accents
momenta in versu heroico (Leipzig, 1874), was
the first of a notable series of articles on ancient
metric, most of which appeared in the Transac-
tions and Proceedings. Apart from these, per-
haps his most important monograph is "The
Agon of the Old Comedy" (American Journal of
Philology, July 1887). His annotated texts,
Aristophanes: Clouds (1885), The Antigone of
Sophocles (1891), and Demosthenes on the
Crown (1913), are of great value, and cannot be
neglected by any student of these authors* For
years he served as American reviewer for the
Berliner Philologische Wochenschrtft, and from
1878 to 1888 was editor general for North Amer-
ica of the "Revue des Revues/' appended to the
Rewe de Philologie.

[Sources of information include personal acquaint-
ance; manuscript autobiography in the library of the
University of Virginia; Daily Progress (Charlottesville,
VaO, Nov. 20, 1028; College Topics (Univ. of Va.),
Nov. 21 r 1928. See also Who's Who in America, 1928-
29; Frederick Humphreys, The Humphreys Family in
America (1883).] R.H.W.

HUMPHREYS, WEST HUGHES (Aug. 26,
i8o6-Oct 16, 1882), jurist, was born in Mont-
gomery County, Tenn., the son of Parry Wayne
Humphreys, a circuit judge and member of Con-
gress, and his wife, Mary (West) Humphreys.
Parry Humphreys* father was a silversmith of
Welsh descent, who moved to Kentucky from
Virginia. West entered Transylvania Univer-
sity, but his health failed and the rest of his gen-
eral education was obtained in schools of Mont-
gOTety Cotmty, Having studied law in his
father's office in Nashville, Tenn., and attended
fectees at Lexington, Ky., he was licensed to
practise In Tennessee in 1828. Ten years before,
fee legion between the Tennessee and Mississippi
Rirons bad been opened to settlement by the

Humphreys

treaty of Shelby and Jackson with the Chicka-
saw Indians, and young Humphreys removed to
Somerville in the new county of Fayette in the
"Western District." He was that county's dele-
gate to the constitutional convention of 1834,
and was influential as chairman of the committee
on legislation. In 1835 he was unsuccessful as
an anti-Jackson candidate for governor—the first
to offer from West Tennessee. He served in the
lower house of the General Assembly, 1835-38.
In January 1839 he married Amanda M. Pillow,
sister of Gideon J. Pillow [#.#.]. Elected attor-
ney-general of the state and reporter of the de-
cisions of the Tennessee supreme court, he served
two terms, 1839-51. Removing to Nashville he
won distinction by editing Reports of Cases . . .
in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 1839 to 1851
(n vols., 1841-51; cited as i-n Humphreys).
Upon returning to regular practice, he was soon
appointed United States district judge of the
three districts of Tennessee, and commissioned
Mar. 26, 1853. Before and during his tenure as
judge the opinions of the lower Federal courts
were not officially published by the government,
and private enterprise was not tempted to enter
the field of law-reporting. There is therefore no
gauge by which to measure the ability of the
judges of those courts* Humphreys, however,
gave satisfactory service on the bench.

When the Civil War was approaching he ad-
vocated the right of secession; and upon Tennes-
see's entering into a compact with the Confed-
erate States of America he accepted in 1862 a
commission from that government for the district
judgeship of Tennessee, and held the courts. He
was impeached as a Federal judge by the lower
house of Congress and tried upon seven articles
by the Senate. Not appearing or pleading, he
was found guilty and disqualified to hold any of-
fice under the Federal government, June 26,1862.
On the crucial article of impeachment—that he
had acted as a judge of the Confederacy-^the
vote was thirty-six "guilty," only Senator Grimes
voting "not guilty." On the charge that he had
as a judge decreed confiscation of the property
of Andrew Johnson, military governor, and John
Catron, justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States, he was found not guilty by a vote
of twelve to twenty-four.

At the end of the war Judge Humphreys re-
turned to the bar, but not to an active practice.
He was pordy and handsome, and is said to have
been of judicial temperament, though somewhat
restless on the bench. He was an independent
thinker. This is evident from his advocacy of
prohibition of the liquor traffic. He published
Suggestions on the Subject of Bank Charters

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