Joseph W. Chinn

Who was Joseph W. Chinn?

Joseph W. Chinn was born at the Brockenbrough house in Tappahannock, Virginia to Joseph William Chinn and Gabriella Brockenbrough Chinn. Judge Chinn was raised at his family home, Wilna, in Richmond County, Virginia south of Warsaw, Virginia. He attended Colonel Council’s School in King and Queen County, Virginia and, after teaching for several years, decided to study law. He entered the University of Virginia Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1890. He began the practice of law in Warsaw. In 1891, he was elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for Richmond County and served in that capacity for twenty-four years, He resigned in 1915 to accept the position of judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Virginia. The Special Court of Appeals was formed in 1924 and, in 1925, Judge Chinn became a member of that court. He remained as a member of that court until it was dissolved three years later. On December 3, 1931, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia and stayed on the bench until his death.

Judge Chinn married Sarah Fairfax Douglas at St. Johns Episcopal Church in Warsaw on December 14, 1899. They had five children, Betty Landon, Joseph William, Sarah Fairfax, Austin Brockenbrough and Mary Douglas.