Kentucky: A History of the State, Perrin, Battle, Kniffin, 8th ed., 1888,
Jefferson Co.

HON. WILLIAM B. HOKE, judge of the Jefferson COunty Court, Ky., is a son
of Cornelius and Jane (Dunbar) Hoke, and was born August 1, 1837.  His
father was of German descent, was a farmer by occupation, a progressive
man, and knew the value of educating his children.  His mother was a
woman of fine intellectual endowments, and of Scotch-Irish parentage;
both of his parents were natives of Kentucky.  Judge Hoke spent the early
part of his life on a farm and in the schools of his native county of
Jefferson.  But, displaying a taste for literary pursuits, he was sent to
college, where he remained three years.  Being impatient to commence the
study of law, his chosen pursuit, he entered the law office of Hon. James
Speed, attorney-general under President Lincoln, and after sufficient
reading attended lectures in the law department of the University of
Louisville, graduating as valedictorian of his class.  He was admitted
to the bar, in Louisville, before reaching the age of twenty-one years.
He commenced the practice of his profession in the office of Hon. S. S.
English, an uncle of Hon. William H. English, an uncle of Hon. William
H. English, of Indiana, and one of the old and leading members of the
Louisville bar.  He rose rapidly to public favor, and in August, 1866,
was elected judge of the Jefferson County Court, a position he has filled
with distinguished ability ever since--now nearly a quarter of a century.
Judge Hoke is a man of fine judgment, of great strength of memory, with
a superior faculty for making his knowledge available on any emergency,
and is justly regarded not only one of the first lawyers, but as one of
the most clear-headed, upright and able judges of the State.  A recent
writer said of him: "Full of the milk of human kindness, and always
ready to yield to the dictates of humanity, Judge Hoke is firm as a rock
against any attempt to swerve him from the path of right and duty.  To the
appeals of a friend he is like melting wax in the mold, and his heart and
hand are ever open to relieve the distressed, but to the threats of any he
is as unyielding and intractable as fortress of Gibraltar."  Judge Hoke is
a writer of more than average ability, and is a clear and forcible speaker.
His bench decisions are rarely reversed, and he gives the greatest interest
to the minutest details in his court; he is universally admired for his
official courtesy, dignity and conscientious exactness.  He was one of the
originators of the Knights of Honor, and in 1878 was elected to the
highest office in the body, that of supreme dictator, which he filled with
honor and credit; when he retired from the important and exalted station,
it was the largest benevolent institution in the world.  He is a prominent
Mason, and has filled many important positions in the order. He is an
active Democrat, and, though not a politician in the full sense of the
word, takes a strong interest in the political questions of the time. In
1859 Judge Hoke was married to Miss Whartie English, daughter of Hon.
S. S. English, a family distinguished in the history of the country.

Hoke Dunbar Speed English
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IN

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/jefferson/hoke.wb.txt