Post-war Life
Bruce returned to Louisville June 19, 1865 and in August 1865, formed the law firm of Bruce and Russell with Samuel Russell, his former pupil. They dissolved the partnership in 1868 when Bruce was elected to the circuit court in Kentucky's ninth district, comprising Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, and Bullitt counties. He was elected by the overwhelming majority of 10,611 votes in a contest where only 14,817 votes were cast. Bruce was among the first Kentuckians to call for courts to recognize negros' testimony as competent and valid, writing a letter to the Chicago Evening Post in support of this cause on February 20, 1869.
Beginning in 1872, despite never having attended college, he served as a law professor at the University of Louisville, holding the chair of history and science of law, law of real property, and contracts and criminal law. He also served as president of the Louisville Medical College. In 1873, Governor Preston Leslie appointed Bruce as a chancellor of the Louisville Chancery Court to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Chancellor Cochran. At a special election held in February 1874, he was elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. In August 1874, he was re-elected to a full, six-year term. He resigned from the chancery court on March 10, 1880 to accept the position of attorney for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Shortly after taking this position, he also resigned his professorship at the University of Louisville.
Bruce died on January 22, 1903 in Louisville. He is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Read more about this topic: Horatio Washington Bruce
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