Joshua Soule Zimmerman

Joshua Soule Zimmerman (January 16, 1874 – September 2, 1962) was an American lawyer, politician, and orchardist in the U.S. state of West Virginia. In the early years of the 20th century, Zimmerman served as the Prosecuting Attorney for Hampshire County and as a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Zimmerman was born in La Plata to Reverend George Henry Zimmerman, a Methodist pastor and church administrator. He began his post-secondary education at Roanoke College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph–Macon College in 1892. He worked as a clerk in the United States Census Office in Washington, D.C., and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1896 from Columbian University Law School. Following his graduation, Zimmerman opened a law office in Romney, West Virginia, in July 1896 and engaged in the practice of law there. He provided legal services to a number of companies and organizations including Capon Valley Bank, Hampshire County's Legal Advisory Board, the Hampshire County Food Administration, and Hampshire County orchard owners. Zimmerman was the secretary for the Winchester and Western Railroad.

While serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates, Zimmerman was appointed by West Virginia Governor John Jacob Cornwell to serve on a West Virginia Legislature select committee charged with drafting a road transportation bill known as the West Virginia State Road Law. He was again appointed by Governor Cornwell to serve on a similar select committee following the ratification of the "Good Roads Amendment" of the Constitution of West Virginia in 1920. In addition to serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates, Zimmerman was the chairman of the Hampshire County Democratic Party Committee and a member of the Second District Congressional Committee; he also participated in judicial, senatorial, and state conventions. Zimmerman played an active role in the commercial apple orchard industry of Hampshire County, and he operated at least three commercial orchards there.

Early life and family Joshua Soule Zimmerman was born on January 16, 1874, near La Plata in Charles County, Maryland, at the ancestral home of his mother, Henrietta A. Rowe Zimmerman. His father was Reverend George Henry Zimmerman, a Methodist pastor and church administrator whose family originated from an estate in Baltimore County near Baltimore, Maryland. Zimmerman's father presided over the Moorefield district of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1894–1898). Zimmerman had two brothers: Edgar Rowe Zimmerman of Ruxton, Maryland, and George Henry Zimmerman of Whitesburg, Kentucky. His father was then transferred to Romney, West Virginia, to preside over the Moorefield district of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1888, he began attending Randolph–Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1892. Following his graduation, Zimmerman worked briefly as a tutor on a plantation and operated a school at Shelby, Mississippi. While attending Columbian University, Zimmerman also served as editor of the 1896 Class Book and resided at 915 I Street, Northwest near Mount Vernon Square. He was later made a Golden Legionnaire of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. His first legal case argued before the Hampshire County Circuit Court was West Virginia v. Smith, in which his client was charged with "breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny". Zimmerman's law practice expanded, and he began arguing cases in adjoining West Virginia county courts and in both the West Virginia state and United States federal courts. He was a member of the West Virginia Bar Association.

Political career

Zimmerman became a prominent leader within the Democratic Party in Hampshire County, which was the dominant political party in the county. At various times, Zimmerman served as the chairman of the Hampshire County Democratic Party Committee, a member of the Second District Congressional Committee, and attended judicial, senatorial, and state conventions. and subsequently served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1921 to 1924. Following his election, Zimmerman was made the Democratic Party's minority floor leader in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Zimmerman was appointed by West Virginia Governor John Jacob Cornwell to serve on a West Virginia Legislature select committee charged with drafting a road transportation bill under West Virginia Senate Joint Resolution No. 21 of May 21, 1919, known as the West Virginia State Road Law. Also during the 1921 legislative session, he sponsored the following bills: H.B. 274 (Ch. 158), which gave county courts the authority to impose a "special building levy" not to exceed 30 cents for the purpose of completing the construction or repair of county courthouses. H.B. 392 (Ch. 49), which provided for the establishment of a county high school for Hampshire County and authorized the Hampshire County Board of Education to impose a levy not to exceed 30 cents for three years to construct and maintain the high school.

During the 1923 session, Zimmerman was majority floor leader. Humane Institutions and Public Buildings, Railroads, Redistricting, According to the 1919 Census of the Commercial Apple Orchards in West Virginia published by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Zimmerman was engaged in the management of three commercial apple orchards near Romney, West Virginia: Fairfax Orchard Company, which produced Stark Delicious apples; Gilkeson, Hart & Zimmerman Orchard, which produced York Imperial, Pennsylvania Winesap, Ben Davis, Stayman Winesap, Jonathan, Grimes Golden, and Rome Beauty apples; and the Mill Mountain Orchard Company, which produced York Imperial, Stayman Winesap, Pennsylvania Winesap, Rambo, Northern Spy, Canada Red, Ben Davis, Grimes Golden, Jonathan, Rome Beauty, Yellow Transparent, and Stark apples. Kitty Campbell Vance was the daughter of John T. and Mary Elizabeth Inskeep Vance of Romney. George Henry Zimmerman (February 20, 1905 – 1987) Kitty Campbell Zimmerman McCracken, married James Paris McCracken of Cisco, Texas at the Romney Presbyterian Church in Romney, West Virginia on August 20, 1946 Vance Zimmerman (August 5, 1910 – September 27, 1976), married Mildred Sites in 1937 in Hampshire County, West Virginia

Zimmerman was an active layperson in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and served as a steward of the Romney Methodist Episcopal Church, South, congregations. Zimmerman represented the church in the Moorefield district and at annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Despite his involvement in the Southern Methodist church, his wife Kitty and several of his children were Presbyterian. In addition, Zimmerman was the dean of the South Branch Bar Association.

Later life and death Zimmerman's wife Kitty predeceased him in 1937. He died at the Williamsport Sanitarium in Williamsport, Maryland, on September 2, 1962, following several months of illness. His funeral was held on September 5, 1962, at the Romney Methodist Church. Zimmerman was interred with his wife Kitty at Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney, West Virginia. He had practiced law in Romney, West Virginia, for 66 years.