| Harrison Welborn Ayres | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Louisiana Second Judicial District Court in Jonesboro | |
| In office 1942 – December 31, 1953 |
|
| Preceded by | J. Frank McInnis |
| Judge of Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport | |
| In office January 1, 1954 – April 30, 1975 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 30, 1900 Ashland Natchitoches Parish Louisiana USA |
| Died | May 14, 1985 (aged 85) Shreveport Caddo Parish Louisiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Edna Ewing Ayres (married 1929-1985, his death) |
| Children | James Ewing Ayres |
| Residence | (1) Jonesboro Jackson Parish Louisiana (2) Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | former Ashland High School (Ashland, Louisiana) |
| Occupation | Judge; Attorney |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Harrison Welborn Ayres (April 30, 1900 – May 14, 1985)[1] was a 20th century judge of the Louisiana Second Judicial District Court, based in Jonesboro, and the state Second Circuit Court of Appeal, anchored in Shreveport.
He served on the district court from 1942 to 1953, having been unopposed in 1948. He was thereafter elected as a Democrat to the ten-parish circuit court, on which he served beginning January 1, 1954, after his election to succeed the retiring Judge J. Frank McInnis of Minden.[2] Under state law, Ayres retired from the bench when he reached his 75th birthday in 1975.[3]To win the circuit court seat, Ayres defeated the Minden attorney John T. Campbell, a member of a prominent political family.[2]
Ayres was born to James W. Ayres (1867–1922) and the former Lula Bumgardner (1869–1942) in the village of Ashland in northern Natchitoches Parish.[4] On May 21, 1918, Ayres graduated from the former Ashland High School. The commencement ceremony was held in the since disbanded Ashland Methodist Church because a fire had destroyed the school building only a few weeks earlier. He then obtained his law degree from the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. In 1979, Ayres, as a former judge, penned a manuscript containing part of the history of the village within the annual report of the Ramah Cemetery Association.[5]
After law school, Ayres practiced in both Jonesboro, the seat of Jackson Parish, and Arcadia, the seat of adjacent Bienville Parish, from 1925 to 1942. His Third Judicial District included Jackson, Bienville, and Claiborne parishes. He also presided for 3.5 years over Lincoln and Union parishes within the Third District. Toward the end of his twenty-one years on the circuit court, Ayres was the presiding judge. He also headed a special panel of the state Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans, not to be confused with the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, also in New Orleans. He was also a judge ad hoc of the Louisiana Supreme Court.[3]
Though he maintained his official domicile in Jonesboro, on retirement Ayres continued to reside in Shreveport, where his son, James Ewing Ayres (born 1936), practices law. In 1929, Ayres married to the former Edna Ewing (1904–1991),[1] the daughter of William Oliver Ewing, Sr., and the former Caledonia Maudie May. In addition to their son, the couple had two grandchildren, Laura Jean Ayres LeBlanc and Leland Harrison "Lee" Ayres, both of Baton Rouge. Ayres was a member of the Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport. He was also affiliated with the Masonic lodge in Jonesboro and the Louisiana and American bar associations.[3]
Ayres died in Shreveport at the age of eighty-five after a brief illness. Services were held at a Rose-Neath Funeral Home chapel in Shreveport, with Noel Memorial pastor W.O. Lynch officiating. Ayres is interred at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport. Pallbearers included fellow Judges Pike Hall, Jr., James E. Bolin, O. E. Price, and Charles A. Marvin.[3]