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Judge Walter Scott Bearden, eminent jurist of Tennessee, died at his home, in Shelbyville, on December 15, after an illness of several months. At the time of his death Judge Bearden was Chancellor of the Fifth Division of the State, and previous to his election to this office he had been judge of the Chancery Court of the Fourth Division since 1886, making a total service on the chancery bench of thirty-three years.

Judge Bearden was a native of Petersburg, Lincoln County, Tenn., where he was born on January 10, 1843, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Susan Margaret Blake Bearden. He received his education at Emory and Henry College, which he left before graduation to enter the Confederate army, in which he served with distinction, becoming a captain in 1864. He was wounded in the Battle of Peachtree Creek and two days later in the Battle of Atlanta and received a third wound at Jonesboro.

In 1874 Judge Bearden was married to Miss Margaret Cooper Whiteside, who proceeded him in death. He is survived by two sons and two daughters.

He was a prominent Mason, being a Knight Templar and a member of the Scottish Rite, holding membership in the Murfreesboro and Nashville Lodges. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and a man held in the highest esteem throughout the scenes of his long and honorable judicial service.