James Schley Hook

Life His father removed to Augusta, Georgia, when his son was six years old, where he received a fair and liberal education. He studied law and was admitted to the bar two months before he was eighteen years old, removed to Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia, and immediately entered upon a large and lucrative practice.

Reputation The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography described him in 1901:

Judge Hook is a Southern gentleman of the old school and a Christian man of highest integrity, he has been one of the leaders of the bar in Georgia, and a learned and able jurist, presiding with grace and power. He met in the court-room Robert Toombs, Ben Hill, the Stephenses and all the leading lawyers of Georgia, and his name is linked with some of the most celebrated trials in the state. He is one of the most eloquent and forcible orators of the state, wielding great influence over juries, and a strong and chaste writer. He has made powerful and classic deliverances in the court-room, on the political hustings, and on the college platform.

His literary taste was shown in his ornate addresses before colleges. His oration on the "Bible and Republicanism" at Oglethorpe University and on "Woman and Truth" to the graduates of Wesleyan Female College, are called "magnificent efforts of eloquence and culture" by the Cyclopaedia.

Personal life He married, in 1851, Emily J. Harris, who died in 1881; and in 1885, Mrs. Lulie C. Mays. His eldest son, Edward B. Hook, was editor of The Augusta Chronicle, and a capable newspaper man of good reputation in Georgia.