Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy

Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy (January 17, 1886 – May 17, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician in the U.S. state of West Virginia. He was a prominent lawyer in Charleston, where he practiced law for over 50 years. Born in Romney in 1886, Flournoy was the son of West Virginia State Senator Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy. Flournoy was a grandson of Hampshire County Clerk of Court John Baker White and a nephew of West Virginia Attorney General Robert White and West Virginia Fish Commission President Christian Streit White. He was also a relative of Thomas Flournoy, United States Representative from Virginia.

Flournoy relocated with his family to Charleston in 1890 during his father's second West Virginia Senate term. Flournoy was educated at Fishburne Military School, Hampden–Sydney College, and West Virginia University College of Law. He was admitted to the Kanawha County bar in 1911 and at various times during his law career, Flournoy was appointed special master, arbitrator, or commissioner for several high-profile court cases. In 1935, Flournoy was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for an at-large seat on the Charleston City Council. In 1937, Flournoy was selected by Governor Homer A. Holt as a member of the Charleston Civil Service Board, which regulated the appointments of police and fire personnel. Flournoy served as an incorporator of the New Homes Corporation of Charleston in 1931 and was later president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation. He was involved in the establishment of a local mortgage business association in 1952. Flournoy died in Charleston in 1961.

Early life and education Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy was born on January 7, 1886, in Romney, West Virginia. He was the son of West Virginia State Senator Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy and his wife Frances "Fannie" Ann Armstrong White. Through his mother, Flournoy was a grandson of Hampshire County Clerk of Court John Baker White and a nephew of West Virginia Attorney General Robert White and West Virginia Fish Commission President Christian Streit White. Through his father, he was a relative of Thomas Flournoy, United States Representative from Virginia. Flournoy was of English and French ancestry through his father, and of Scottish and Swiss ancestry through his mother.

In 1890, during his father's second term in the West Virginia Senate, Flournoy and his family relocated from Romney to Charleston, where his father continued practicing law after his resignation from the senate.

Flournoy received his primary education at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia. Flournoy was a partner in the Charleston law firm of Flournoy and Porter, where he practiced law for over 50 years.

At various times during his law career, Flournoy was appointed special master, arbitrator, or commissioner for several high-profile court cases. In 1932, Flournoy was appointed special master in a suit involving the estate of Mercy J. Keller, the widow of Benjamin Franklin Keller, a judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Flournoy authored a report allowing for the distribution of funds to Keller's heirs and beneficiaries from Charleston National Bank. He was unable to attend one of the lawsuit mediation conferences due to an ankle injury.

Flournoy continued to expand his law practice by winning large contracts. In March 1933, he offered the lowest bid of $3,745 for a contract that supplied certificates of land title in Kanawha and Fayette counties within the Huntington federal engineering district. The lands within the federal engineering district were to be utilized by the Federal government for river work. Flournoy actively campaigned for the at-large seat, and spoke to several local organizations, including the First Ward Negro Democratic Club and Beck's Mission on Charleston's West Side. Under Flournoy's leadership, the committee completed its review in January 1936. While serving on the board, Flournoy was its president and spokesperson.

Business career On July 14, 1931, Flournoy was an incorporator of the New Homes Corporation of Charleston, a building and construction firm, which was headquartered in the Davidson Building and was chartered with a capital stock value of $50,000. Flournoy was later president of the Mortgage Exchange Corporation of Charleston. Flournoy was named by the association as one of three men appointed to the by-laws committee. He and Katharine had two children, one son and one daughter: Nancy Margaret Cotton Flournoy Moore, married Webster Hamilton Moore of Greensboro, North Carolina, on December 3, 1949

Flournoy was a practicing Presbyterian and was a member of the Ruffner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charleston.