Memorial Record of Western Kentucky, Volume I and Volume II, Lewis
Publishing Company, 1904, pp. 22-27.  Carlisle Co.  [Portrait, page
23]

JUDGE RICHARD J. BUGG

     At the bar and on the bench Judge Richard Jackson Bugg has gained
for himself a reputation as a most able lawyer, of comprehensive
understanding of the principles of jurisprudence.  Appointed by the
governor to fill out an unexpired term on the circuit bench, he was
nominated at the next regular primary election of his party in May,
1903, and was elected at the November election following, and is
therefore the present incumbent in the office, which stands as the
conservator of human rights and liberties, of life and happiness.
     Judge Bugg, now a resident of Bardwell, was born in Blandville,
Ballard county, Kentucky, July 16, 1862, and is descended from one of
the old families of Virginia.  His great-grandfather, Zachariah Bugg,
was a native of Mecklenberg county, Virginia, whence he removed to
Tennessee, settling near Gallatin, where he resided through a long
period.  He died at an advanced age, and thus passed away one of the
prominent and influential residents of that region.  His son, Richard
Bugg, the grandfather of the judge, was born in Sumner county,
Tennessee, and on leaving his native state took up his abode in Trigg
county, Kentucky.  He married Miss Prudence Chappell, a native of
Christian county, this state, and for some years they resided in Trigg
county.
     Zachariah Wesley Bugg, the father of Judge Bugg, was born in
Sumner county, Tennessee, in 1828, but was reared in Trigg county,
Kentucky, and when a young man left that county with his mother, who
was then a widow, and went to Ballard county.  In the latter county
his mother died, when well advanced in years.  Her children were
Zachariah Wesley, Richard D., James W., Ann and Mary.  Zachariah W.
Bugg acquired the greater part of his education in Gallatin,
Tennessee, and after studying the law for some time was admitted to
the bar at Blandville, Kentucky.  He then located for practice in that
place, continuing to make his home there until the county seat was
removed to Wickliffe, at which time he became a resident of the latter
city, spending his remaining days there.  He was an able lawyer, and
during his active connection with the bar was retained as counsel for
the defense or plaintiff in almost every case of importance tried in
the courts of his district.  He won considerable renown by reason of
the capable manner in which he handled the legal business entrusted to
him, and in all walks of life he was uniformly respected and admired.
He was an ardent Democrat, and both he and his wife were consistent
members of the Christian Church.  He served for one term as county
attorney of Ballard county, but other than that never held or desired
public office.  He married Mary A. Jackson, who was a native of
Woodford county, Kentucky, and she died in 1902, at the age of
sixty-eight years.  To them were born three children who reached
mature years, namely: Mrs. Lucy B. Coffee, a widow, residing in
Wickliffe; Richard J., and Zachariah W., a druggist of Wickliffe.
     In the schools of Blandville and in the Kentucky University at
Lexington, Richard J. Bugg acquired his literary education, and then,
determining to follow in the professional footsteps of his father, he
became a student in the law department of the University of
Louisville, where he was prepared for practice, mastering a thorough
course of study.  In 1885 he was admitted to the bar, and at Bardwell
entered upon the practice of the law, where he soon won a large
clientage, rising to prominence in his profession.  As a lawyer he has
had the success that might naturally be looked for where close
application and immense power for work are united to mental strength
and quickness, an extraordinary memory and an unappeasable appetite
for the activities of the profession.  His fidelity to his clients'
interests was proverbial, yet he never forgot that he owed a higher
allegiance to the majesty of the law.  His diligence and energy in the
preparation of his cases, as well as the earnestness, tenacity and
courage with which he defended the right as he understood it,
challenged the highest admiration of his associates, and thus it was
that he gained a reputation that made him the natural selection when
it became necessary for the governor to appoint some one to fill out
the unexpired term of the circuit judge of the First judicial
district.  At the next regular election he became the regular nominee
of the Democratic party, and was elected to the position which he is
now so capably filling.
     In 1888 Judge Bugg was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Coil,
and their union has been blessed with three children:  Mary, Alice and
Virginia.  The judge and his wife are members of the Christian Church,
and he is a Master Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.  On the bench his services have met the most sanguine hopes
of his many friends, and have given excellent satisfaction to the bar
and general public.  His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful
analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment.  A
judge on the bench fails more frequently, perhaps, from a deficiency
in that broad-mindedness which comprehends the details of a situation
quickly and that insures a complete self-control under even the most
exasperating conditions, than from any other cause; and the judge who
makes a success in the discharge of his multitudinous delicate duties
is a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind and of marked
intellectual attainments.  That Judge Bugg is regarded as such a
jurist is a uniformly accepted fact.

Bugg Chappell Jackson Coffee Coil
=
Ballard-KY Mecklenberg-VA Sumner-TN Trigg-KY Christian-KY Woodford-KY

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/carlisle/bugg.rj.txt