Edgar Parks Rucker

Edgar Parks Rucker (December 23, 1861 – April 21, 1908) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessman in the U.S. state of West Virginia. He was a Republican who served as the 12th attorney general of West Virginia from March 4, 1897, until March 3, 1901.

Rucker was born in Covington, Virginia, in 1861 and was raised in Lewisburg, West Virginia, where he attended school at Lewisburg Academy. He briefly worked as a schoolteacher in Greenbrier County public schools then earned a Bachelor of Laws from West Virginia University's Department of Law in 1887. He returned to Lewisburg and practiced law with his father William Parks Rucker. In July 1887, Rucker engaged in a duel with Lewisburg deputy postmaster Bedford Beirne, resulting in serious injuries to Beirne. Rucker relocated to Princeton, where he practiced law for three years; then to Bramwell, where he was editor of the Flat Top Monitor. He then moved to Welch and established a law firm in which he served as senior partner with Benjamin Franklin Keller among his firm's partners.

In 1888, Rucker unsuccessfully ran for the 8th Senate district seat and in 1892 for the 3rd congressional district seat. He served on the West Virginia University board of regents from 1895 to 1897. In 1896, Rucker was elected state attorney general, and during his tenure, his office was involved with cases resulting in increased tax revenue for the state. In addition to his political career, Rucker served as an incorporator and the president of several companies in Welch. After suffering poor health in his later years, Rucker died in 1908 in Washington, D.C. following surgery.

Early life and education Edgar Parks Rucker was born in Covington, Virginia, on December 23, 1861, during the early period of the American Civil War. He was the youngest of four sons of William Parks Rucker and Margaret Scott Rucker. Rucker's three older brothers were Hedley Scott Rucker; William Waller Rucker, U.S. Representative from Missouri; and James Thomas Rucker. During his early years, Rucker and his family relocated to Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, where he attended Lewisburg Academy. He then attended and completed a course in West Virginia University's Department of Law, where he won a prize for his essay entitled "The Works and Age of Milton", and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1887. The duel occurred after Beirne supposedly insulted Rucker. Rucker fired the first shot, which broke Beirne's wrist, When Beirne's condition worsened, however, Rucker was re-arrested and jailed. In 1892, Rucker then moved to Bramwell in the burgeoning Pocahontas Coalfield region, where he remained for one year and served as the editor of the Flat Top Monitor, a Republican newspaper.

In 1893, Rucker and his family moved to Welch, which the previous year had become the county seat of McDowell County, and was active in West Virginia's Republican Party. Due to his young age, he became known as "the boy candidate". He lost the November election against Democratic incumbent John D. Alderson. In February 1897, Rucker joined regents in advocating for appropriations from the West Virginia Legislature for a new building to accommodate the increased enrollment at West Virginia University.

Attorney general In June and July 1896, Rucker was endorsed by McDowell County Republican Conventions as their candidate for Republican nominee for West Virginia attorney general. On July 23, 1896, at the state convention in Parkersburg, he was formally nominated as the Republican candidate for attorney general, and in November, he ran for election against Democratic incumbent Thomas S. Riley. On January 14, 1897, the West Virginia Legislature convened a joint assembly to canvass the returns of the 1896 election, and declared Rucker the 12th attorney general-elect with 105,432 votes to incumbent Riley's 94,060 votes.

Rucker commenced his tenure as attorney general on March 4, 1897. At the start of his term, he was directed by the West Virginia Board of Public Works to represent the state in the case , and appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court alongside his predecessors Riley and Thayer Melvin. In November 1888, the court decided in favor of West Virginia, ruling the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad and other railroad companies were required to pay taxes on their bridges across the Ohio River to the state of West Virginia.

In September 1897, Rucker went to Keystone to intervene in a mob intending to lynch Tom Major, who was being held in jail in connection with the murder of special officer Newt Hines. Rucker and local officials transported Major via freight engine from Keystone to the jail in Welch to ensure Major's safety and avoid a race riot. Ohio County made more than 1,700 indictments; however, Rucker and Meyer procured injunctions against the most-prominent violators, which resulted in those saloonkeepers agreeing to pay the full license tax and in West Virginia recovering $18,000 in taxes . Rucker served as attorney general until March 3, 1901. He also served as a director of the McDowell County Bank and a number of other corporations. In October 1899, Rucker was an incorporator of the C. L. Ritter Lumber Company of Welch. In March 1905, Rucker was among several representatives of West Virginia's coal industry who met with Governor William M. O. Dawson and state tax commissioner Charles W. Dillon to protest a state law that taxed coal, oil, and gas leases as personal property.

Personal life Marriage and children Rucker married Maude Applegate of Keytesville, Missouri, on January 11, 1888, at the residence of her uncle L. M. Applegate near Keytesville; according to the Chariton Courier, the wedding was a "quiet and unpretentious affair". Rucker and his wife had one daughter, Margaret Clarke Rucker, He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows He remained ill and for three years, he consulted specialists for a cure. He died following complications from the operation at 5p.m. on April 21, 1908, At the West Virginia Republican Party's 6th Senate district meeting at Keystone in August 1908, a resolution expressing sorrow at Rucker's death was passed. Former Governor George W. Atkinson said of Rucker in his book "Bench and Bar of West Virginia" (1919): General Rucker was an unusually brilliant and successful lawyer. Always intensely active, wholly devoted to the interests of his clients, ever resourceful, particularly in an emergency, a fine orator, a born leader of men, he was a good lawyer and a splendid gentleman.

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