Thomas Shelton Maxey
United States federal judge (1846–1921)
Thomas Shelton Maxey (September 1, 1846 – December 5, 1921) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in Brandon, Mississippi, Maxey was in the Confederate States Army from 1864 to 1865, then received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1869. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1870. He was in private practice in Jefferson, Texas from 1871 to 1877, serving as city attorney for Jefferson from 1875 to 1877 before moving his private practice to Austin, Texas from 1877 to 1888.
Federal judicial service
On June 18, 1888, Maxey was nominated by President Grover Cleveland to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas vacated by Judge Ezekiel B. Turner. Maxey was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 25, 1888, and received his commission the same day. He retired on December 12, 1916. Maxey died on December 5, 1921, in Austin.
References
Sources
Thomas Sheldon Maxey at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
The public source identifies “Thomas Shelton Maxey” as united States federal judge (1846–1921). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Thomas, Shelton and Maxey.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Thomas Shelton Maxey”, the useful work is to connect “united States federal judge (1846–1921)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7793919. VIAF identifies the subject as 19042419. The Library of Congress control number is n2002065316. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1846, 1921, 1864 and 1865.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Thomas Shelton Maxey”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Thomas Shelton Maxey primary sources, Thomas Shelton Maxey archive and Thomas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thomas Shelton Maxey”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Shelton Maxey” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.