JAMES H. DORIS 1911

HISTORY OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

JAMES H. DORIS
1911 - 1912

James H. Doris, the tenth prosecuting attorney, was born in Kentucky on March 3, 1863, the son of a farmer. His father died when he was two years old. He moved to Southeast Missouri and worked in a sawmill and at other occupations as he studied law at home and in the office of an attorney. In 1896 he was admitted to the Missouri bar. His bar examination was held in open court and among strangers "but he made a splendid record, answering clearly and fully all of the questions which were made the test of his legal knowledge." He opened a practice in Winona, Missouri, and served as mayor of the city of Winona for two terms, but moved to Cape Girardeau ten years later. He was a staunch Republican who was always very active in politics.