H. Welborn Ayres

Harrison Welborn Ayres
Judge of the Louisiana Second Judicial District Court in Jonesboro
In office 1942 – December 31, 1953
Judge of Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport
In office January 1, 1954 – April 30, 1975
Preceded by	J. Frank McInnis
Succeeded by	Charles A. Marvin
Personal details
Born	April 30, 1900 Ashland Natchitoches Parish Louisiana USA
Died	May 14, 1985 (aged 85) Shreveport Caddo Parish Louisiana
Resting place	Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Edna Ewing Ayres (married 1929–1985, his death)
Children	James Ewing Ayres
Parents	James W. and Lula Bumgardner Ayres
Residence	(1) Jonesboro, Jackson Parish Louisiana (2) Shreveport, Louisiana
Alma mater	former Ashland High School Louisiana State University Law Center
Occupation	Judge; Attorney
Religion	United Methodist Church

Harrison Welborn Ayres (April 30, 1900 – May 14, 1985)^[1] was a 20th-century judge of the Louisiana Second Judicial District Court, based in Jonesboro, and the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, anchored in Shreveport.

Background

Ayres was born to James W. Ayres (1867–1922) and the former Lula Bumgardner (1869–1942) in the village of Ashland in northern Natchitoches Parish.^[2] On May 21, 1918, Ayres graduated from the former Ashland High School. The commencement ceremony was held in the since disbanded Ashland Methodist Church because a fire had destroyed the school building only a few weeks earlier. He then obtained his law degree from the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. In 1979, Ayres, as a former judge, penned a manuscript containing part of the history of the village within the annual report of the Ramah Cemetery Association.^[3]

Legal career

After law school, Ayres practiced from 1925 to 1941 in both Jonesboro, the parish seat of Jackson Parish, and Arcadia in adjacent Bienville Parish. He served on the district court from 1942 to 1953, having been unopposed in 1942 and 1948.^[4] He was thereafter elected in July 1952, as a Democrat to the ten-parish circuit court, a position which he filled after a long waiting period on January 1, 1954.^[5] He defeated the Minden attorney John T. Campbell (1903–1993),^[6] for the right to succeed the retiring Judge J. Frank McInnis, a Bienville Parish native residing in Minden.^[7]

Ayres' Third Judicial District included Jackson, Bienville, and Claiborne parishes. He also presided for 3.5 years over Lincoln and Union parishes within the Third District. Toward the end of his twenty-one years on the circuit court, Ayres was the presiding judge. He also headed a special panel of the state Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans, not to be confused with the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, also in New Orleans. He was also a judge ad hoc of the Louisiana Supreme Court.^[8]

Under state law, Ayres retired from the bench when he reached his 75th birthday in 1975.^[8]

Family and death

Though he maintained his official domicile in Jonesboro, on retirement Ayres continued to reside in Shreveport, where his son, James Ewing Ayres (born 1936), practices law. In 1929, Ayres married the former Edna Ewing (1904–1991),^[1] the daughter of William Oliver Ewing, Sr., and the former Caledonia Maudie May. In addition to their son, the couple had two grandchildren, Laura Jean Ayres LeBlanc and Leland Harrison "Lee" Ayres, both of Baton Rouge. Ayres was a member of the Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport. He was affiliated with the Masonic lodge in Jonesboro and the Louisiana and American bar associations.^[8]

Ayres died in Shreveport at the age of eighty-five after a brief illness. Services were held at a Rose-Neath Funeral Home chapel in Shreveport, with Noel Memorial pastor W. O. Lynch officiating. Ayres is interred at Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport. Pallbearers included fellow Judges Pike Hall, Jr., James E. Bolin, O. E. Price, and Charles A. Marvin.^[8]

References

1. "Social Security Death Index". ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
2. "James W. Ayres". findagrave.com. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
3. H.W. Ayres, "The History of Ashland, Louisiana", manuscript for Ramah Cemetery Association, 1979. Ayers's parents are interred at Ramah Cemetery.
4. Minden Press, May 30, 1952, p. 1
5. "Judge Ayres Will Become Successor to Judge McInnis", Minden Press, January 1, 1954, p. 1
6. Minden Press, August 1, 1952, p. 1
7. "Judge Ayres Is Candidate for Court of Appeals", Minden Press, May 30, 1952, p. 2
8. "Judge H. W. Ayres", The Shreveport Times, May 16, 1985