Robert B. Warden

Robert Bruce Warden (January 18, 1824 – December 3, 1888) was a Democratic Party jurist in the U.S. state of Ohio who sat on the Ohio Supreme Court for a short time 1854–1855. He also authored biographies of Salmon P. Chase and Stephen A. Douglas.

Biography

Robert B. Warden was born at Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky. At about age three, his family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was educated at the Athenaeum, a Roman Catholic college in the city.

Warden started study of law under Judge Reed in 1840, and later under Judge Walker. At age 17 he was deputy clerk of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, and two years later clerk, until age 21, when he was admitted to the bar. and was named reporter of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio that year. He ran for a different seat on the court later in 1855, but lost to his Republican opponent.

Warden returned to private practice in Ohio, where one author characterized him : "He was a man of exceptional ability, but did not possess the power to use it to the best advantage." Another noted : "He was well known as an elegant and forceful speaker, both before the courts and in political campaigns. In politics he was too independent and fearless to permit the 'machine' to influence his course, and this quality denied him the close affiliation with either of the great political parties."

Publications