Abraham Jay Buckles (August 2, 1846 - January 19, 1915)

Associate Justice, April 1905 - January 1907

Abraham Jay Buckles was born near Muncie, Indiana, on August 2, 1846. Buckles was largely self-educated. When war broke out in 1861, he joined Company E, 19th Indiana Infantry, which was to become part of the "Iron Brigade" of the Army of the Potomac. Wounded numerous times in several notorious Civil War battles, Buckles’ right leg was amputated after being shot through the knee at the Hatchin Run, March 25, 1865, just 15 days before Lee's surrender. Buckles received a Congressional Medal of Honor. After his discharge as a second lieutenant, he became a teacher while he read the law. He was admitted to the Bar in 1875 and moved to Dixon, California, where he began his legal career. In 1879, he was elected District Attorney of Solano County, a position he retained until 1884, when he became Judge of the Superior Court of Solano County. Governor Pardee named Buckles to the newly created Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in April 1905. Buckles denied nomination for election to the appellate court in 1906, and left office upon the expiration of his term in 1907. He returned to practice in Fairfield, and in 1908 returned to the bench of the Superior Court of Solano County, where he served for the remainder of his life. He died 11 days after an operation in Ramona Hospital in San Bernardino County on January 19, 1915.