Ralph L. Berkshire (1816-1902)

Ralph L. Berkshire was born in 1816 and grew up on a farm in Monongalia County. He received no formal schooling, but at the age of eighteen left home to apprentice with a carpenter. In 1838, Berkshire began reading law under the mentorship of Guy R. C. Allen, a prominent West Virginia lawyer. Despite having no formal education, Berkshire displayed sufficient aptitude to be admitted to the bar in ca. 1841 alongside Waitman T. Willey, who is also buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery. After practicing law for only a few years, Berkshire was appointed as Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney in 1847. In 1852, Berkshire ran for the same position and won, as it had changed from an appointed to elected role. Berkshire ran for circuit court judge in 1861 but lost to George W. Thompson.

Berkshire was an outspoken Republican and opponent to Virginian secession from the Union during the Civil War. His contributions to the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 were hailed by major newspapers as “the first loyal voice from West Virginia.”1 He was elected Monongalia County’s delegate to both the first and second Wheeling Conventions in 1861. Thompson, the judge who had previously defeated Berkshire in the campaign for circuit court judge, refused to take the oaths mandated by the Wheeling Convention. Therefore, a new election was held, and Berkshire was selected to replace Thompson. Berkshire served in this capacity from 1861 until 1863.

It was in 1863 that West Virginia became its own fully-fledged state. Berkshire was one of three judges nominated to serve on the new state’s Supreme Court of Appeals. The judges drew lots of four, eight, and twelve years to determine term lengths, and Berkshire drew the shortest term. However, he was chosen to lead the court. When his term expired, Berkshire attempted reelection, but was defeated by Edwin Maxwell. Fortunately for Berkshire, the judge who drew the lot for the longest term resigned in 1868, and Berkshire won the campaign for the unexpectedly vacant seat. For over one hundred years, Berkshire held the distinction of only judge to serve on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in non-consecutive terms. Berkshire served for four more years between 1868, before the results of the 1872 elections completely flipped the court.

Berkshire also served a single term from 1874 to 1878 as Monongalia County’s State Senator. This position was Berkshire’s last term in political office, though he remained a prolific orator and Republican ally. For the last decades of his life, Berkshire maintained his private law practice in Morgantown in partnership with George C. Sturgiss, also buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. Berkshire died in 1902 in Morgantown.

Atkinson, George Wesley. Prominent Men of West Virginia: Biographical Sketches, the Growth and Advancement of the State, a Compendium of Returns of Every Election, a Record of Every State Officer. West Virginia. W. L. Callin, 1890.

Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Monongalia, Marion and Taylor Counties, West Virginia. West Virginia. Rush West, 1895.

"Interesting Data." The Raleigh Herald (Beckley) August 27th 1908. , 3-3.

Perry II, Rory L. 'Drawing Lots' A Historical Perspective of the West Virginia Supreme Court, January 1st 2016. Accessed September 10th 2020. http://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/press/Publications/2016_CourtBrochure.pdf.