Edgar Parks Rucker (December 23, 1861 – April 21, 1908) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessman in the U.S. state of West Virginia. He was a Republican who served as the 12th attorney general of West Virginia from March 4, 1897, until March 3, 1901.
Rucker was born in Covington, Virginia, in 1861 and was raised in Lewisburg, West Virginia, where he attended school at Lewisburg Academy. He briefly worked as a schoolteacher in Greenbrier County public schools then earned a Bachelor of Laws from West Virginia University's Department of Law in 1887. He returned to Lewisburg and practiced law with his father William Parks Rucker. In July 1887, Rucker engaged in a duel with Lewisburg deputy postmaster Bedford Beirne, resulting in serious injuries to Beirne. Rucker relocated to Princeton, where he practiced law for three years; then to Bramwell, where he was editor of the Flat Top Monitor. He then moved to Welch and established a law firm in which he served as senior partner with Benjamin Franklin Keller among his firm's partners.
In 1888, Rucker unsuccessfully ran for the 8th Senate district seat and in 1892 for the 3rd congressional district seat. He served on the West Virginia University board of regents from 1895 to 1897. In 1896, Rucker was elected state attorney general, and during his tenure, his office was involved with cases resulting in increased tax revenue for the state. In addition to his political career, Rucker served as an incorporator and the president of several companies in Welch. After suffering poor health in his later years, Rucker died in 1908 in Washington, D.C. following surgery.
Early life and education
Edgar Parks Rucker was born in Covington, Virginia, on December 23, 1861, during the early period of the American Civil War. He was the youngest of four sons of William Parks Rucker and Margaret Scott Rucker. Rucker's three older brothers were Hedley Scott Rucker; William Waller Rucker, U.S. Representative from Missouri; and James Thomas Rucker. During his early years, Rucker and his family relocated to Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, where he attended Lewisburg Academy. In his early adulthood, Rucker was a schoolteacher in Greenbrier County public schools. He then attended and completed a course in West Virginia University's Department of Law, where he won a prize for his essay entitled "The Works and Age of Milton", and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1887.
Law career
Immediately following his graduation, Rucker returned to Lewisburg, where he practiced law with his father. In July 1887, Rucker engaged in a duel with Lewisburg deputy postmaster Bedford Beirne, in which Rucker shot and seriously injured Beirne. The duel occurred after Beirne supposedly insulted Rucker. Rucker fired the first shot, which broke Beirne's wrist, then both men fired at each other and Beirne was shot in the chest. Rucker was arrested and bailed out of jail after the duel. When Beirne's condition worsened, however, Rucker was re-arrested and jailed.
After his marriage to Maude Applegate in January 1888, Rucker and his wife relocated to Princeton, where he practiced law for three years. On September 3, 1890, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the West Virginia National Guard's 2nd Regiment, Company A, which was organized and mustered into service in Princeton. In 1892, Rucker then moved to Bramwell in the burgeoning Pocahontas Coalfield region, where he remained for one year and served as the editor of the Flat Top Monitor, a Republican newspaper.
In 1893, Rucker and his family moved to Welch, which the previous year had become the county seat of McDowell County, and Rucker established a law practice there. Rucker served as the senior partner of his law firm, which initially consisted of Benjamin Franklin Keller and James L. Hamill, and was known as Rucker, Keller, and Hamill. This partnership lasted until 1898, after which Rucker was joined by other law partners, including Luther C. Anderson, William Wellington Hughes, and Daniel J. F. Strother.