Royall T. Wheeler
American judge (1810-1864)
Royall Tyler Wheeler (or Royal; August 23, 1810 – April 8, 1864) was an American judge who served as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Between 1857 and 1860, he was the first head of the Baylor Law School. He is the namesake of Wheeler County, Texas, and its county seat.
Biography
Wheeler was born in Virginia and moved to Ohio before completing his legal preparation. He moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he became a partner of Williamson S. Oldham in law practice. After marrying Emily Walker, he moved in 1839 to San Augustine, Texas, where he was in law practice with future Republic of Texas vice president Kenneth Lewis Anderson. By 1842, Wheeler became a district attorney in Texas, and he was named a district judge and associate judge on the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas three years later. He remained on the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice when Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845, and he became a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas in 1857.
That same year, Wheeler was named the founding head of the first iteration of the Baylor Law School. At that time, Baylor was located in Independence, Texas.
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