Johnson, Okey
lawyer, legislator, jurist, was born March 24, 1834, in Long Reach, Va. In 1856 he graduated from the Marietta high school, which institution conferred the degree of A. M. upon him in 1874; and in 1858 from the law school of the Harvard university, with the degree of LL. B.
He practiced his profession at Parkersburg until 1877, when he took his seat on the supreme bench of West Virginia. He was twice a candidate for presidential elector; was elected to the state senate in 1870; to the constitutional convention in 1871, and was one of the most prominent members in the constitutional convention of 1872. He was a member of the supreme court during 1877-89, and was president of the court for nearly eight years. Since 1895 he has been dean of the law college of the West Virginia university. As a lecturer and teacher of law he has been eminently successful, both oratorically and practically.