Joseph Rucker Lamar (1857-1916) lived in this manse from 1860-1875 while his father, James Sanford Lamar, was pastor of First Christian Church. A prominent attorney, he served two terms in the Georgia legislature and codified the civil code of Georgia in 1893. He sat as an associate justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, 1903-1905. Although a Democrat, he was appointed by Republican President Taft as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1911. President Wilson, his boyhood friend, appointed Lamar to serve on the commission for the 1914 peace negotiation between the United States and Mexico. Lamar died in office at his Washington, D.C. home in 1916.
2002.17 Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and Historic Augusta, Inc 121-6
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Ken Moser.