Hon.
Henry Bascom Strange.
In the annals of the judiciary of Bulloch County there is found no name
that is held in higher honor, esteem and confidence than that of Hon.
Henry Bascom Strange, jurist, legist, public spirited citizen and
self-made man, whose record in public and private life alike is one on
which there is not the slightest stain or blemish. Few men have gained
more honestly or completely the admiration of their fellow citizens,
and the honor that has come to him has been gained without animosity.
Judge Strange was born in Effingham County, Georgia, November 13, 1863,
the family home being located at Mount Pleasant Landing, on the
Savannah River. His father, the Rev. L. L. Strange, was born near
Spartansburg, South Carolina, and as a boy of twelve years was brought
to Georgia, where he spent the rest of his life, his mature years as.a
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Conference and as a preacher of
wide renown. He died at the age of forty-five years. He was married in
Effingham County to Florence 'Wilson, a native of that county, who is
now living at Statesboro, at the age of seventy-two years, and they
became the parents of six children, of whom five are still living: Dr.
George P., a practicing physician of Effingham County; Henry Bascom;
Berry L., a practicing attorney of Houston, Texas; Mrs. Lizzie Graham,
of Effingham County; and Mrs. Susie Ann Rackley, who is a resident of
Statesboro.
Henry Bascom Strange was but twelve years of age when his father died,
and at that time he became the sole support of his mother, this
naturally precluding the idea of any extensive educational training at
that time. However, he had attended the public schools, and when
twenty-one years of age began earnestly the study of his chosen
profession, and when twenty-two entered the office of J. G. and D. H.
Clark, of Tusculum, Georgia, spending two years under the preceptorship
of these gentlemen. He was admitted to the bar May 14, 1888. under
Judge A. P. Adams, of the Eastern Circuit, and at once began practice
at Guy ton, where he remained four years. He came to Statesboro August
9. 1892, and almost immediately took his place among the strong and
thorough attorneys of the Bulloch County seat. As the years passed he
established himself more and more thoroughly in the confidence of the
people and began to give attention to public affairs. In 1905 he was
elected to the Georgia Legislature from the Seventeenth Senatorial
District, serving in that and the following year, and in 1908 and 1909
was mayor of Statesboro and gave the people of this city one of the
best administrations they have ever known. By this time it was
recognized that here was judicial timber, and in 1910 he was elected
judge of the City Court, an office which he held for four years. In
1915 he met defeat as a candidate for judge of the Superior Court,
Middle Circuit, by 100 votes. He is a member of the Bulloch County Bar
Association and the Georgia State Bar Association, is fraternally a
Mason, and with his family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Judge Strange was married November 4, 1891, at Guyton, Georgia, to Miss
Laura Gertrude Fruetrell, daughter of A. J. Fruetrell, a well known
merchant still in business at Guyton. They have no children.
At the time of his retirement as judge of the City Court, Judge Strange
was presented with a gold-headed cane by the members of the Bulloch
County Bar Association, which body adopted the following resolutions:
"Upon the convening of the City Court, being the first retiring
officers of Statesboro, the following resolutions of appreciation were
presented and unanimously adopted and ordered- to be spread upon the
minutes of the court. Judge Strange. Whereas, with the close of the
year 1914, at the hour of midnight, Hon. Henry Bascom Strange's term of
office as judge of the City Court of Statesboro expired, after
extending over the period of four years; and, Whereas, his
administration of that office was marked by a controlling spirit of
fairness and impartiality to all, rich and poor alike, without favor or
affection to any, no obligations save to discharge faithfully and
fearlessly every duty of the office and, Whereas, during his term of
four years he has made for himself by his strict adherence to the
principles of right and justice a name and a reputation as a judge of
unusual ability and has demonstrated that he possesses a peculiar
fitness for the judicial office, a fact recognized by bar and laity
alike; and, Whereas, he has uniformly sought to administer the
functions of his court with impartiality, tempering justice with mercy,
shielding the weak from the oppression of the strong, exercising
patience with the shortcomings and the inexperience of many of us who
have been practitioners in his court, placing his own experience and
knowledge of the law in the aid of the cause of justice, and in all his
conduct of that responsible office has shown an earnest desire and
purpose; Whereas, despite the great volume of business—over 1,000
cases—set before him in the four years, only sixteen cases have been
appealed from his court to the Court of Appeals, and of that number a
reversal of his decision has only been made in three cases, a record of
appeals and reversals perhaps not excelled by any other judge in the
state; Be It Now Resolved by the Bar of Bulloch County, that we thus
formally express to Judge Strange our regrets at his retirement from
office and express to him our cordial personal appreciation of his
excellent services as a judge, his splendid character as a man and
citizen, and his recognized ability as a fellow-member of the Bar. and
that we tender to him our sincerest wishes for a long and prosperous
career at the bar, and that the future may hold in store for him a
judicial place of higher station; and be it further resolved that these
resolutions be entered on the minutes of the court and a copy furnished
Judge Strange."
