Judge J.B. Forse, Sr.-"Sage of Eat Texas"
By Jonnie Miller
Judge Forse was born in Sabine County, October 16, 1874 during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. He died March 21, 1966. Judge Forse was a self-made lawyer. He never went to law school. Instead he "read law" in the law office of W. F. Goodridge. He passed the bar examination by answering questions of all phases of law given to him by members of the San Augustine bar. Forty lawyers grilled him for 5 hours before they finally decided he knew enough about the law to practice and he was admitted to the bar in September of 1902. He practiced law for more than 60 year in Hemphill and Newton.
Judge Forse never held an elected office and never wanted one. At one time he served as district judge, appointed by Governor Jim Ferguson, to fill out an unexpired term of another district judge in Orange County. He was a life-long Democrat for many years but left the party when "the party walked out on him," Judge Forse explained. The Roosevelt Supreme Court packing was the incident that removed the party from him.
He was a criminal-work lawyer but began working civil law cases later in life and worked for Kirby Lumber Corporation representing the company in its land litigation in Newton, San Augustine, Tyler, Liberty and Polk County. He often said you couldn't dig into a land suit without digging up a lot of history of the state and the judge became a history buff. He talked about his own move to Newton from Hemphill with his belongings packed in a wagon. He said he walked for two and a half days over winding trails through dense woods. At that time not a single tree had been cut between those two communities. Other than probing Texas history, the judge's hobbies were hunting and fishing.
The judge couldn't stand to see persecution rather than prosecution in a courtroom. When he did he was apt to get in on the case and stop the persecution.
He was not always a lawyer. At one time he worked as a deputy in the Sabine County sheriff's office before becoming the county attorney. He was a mason and served as trustee of the Newton School when it was transitioning from the W.H. Ford Male and Female College to the Newton School. J.B. was Newton County Democratic Chairman, legal counsel for the Draft board in WWI, a member of Texas State Board Legal Examiners, a Member of the Texas State Bar, one time president of the First Judicial District Bar Association and a member of the Methodist Church. He bought the right-of-way for the graded road between Newton and Burkeville and he also at various times served as a school teacher, county attorney of Sabine County, the senior member of Forse & Forse law firm, as well as his other titles. He was a charter member of First Judicial District Bar Association of Texas. He was not a man to sit still for long.
His fees varied but were sometimes paid in produce such as syrup, potatoes, pork, chicken, corn and even a pig or a calf.
Born on the county line between San Augustine and Sabine Counties, his father and grandfather operated grist mills in both counties. He was called the "Sage of East Texas" because of his wisdom in dealing with people and life. He often said that if you wanted friends, befriend a child and you would always have them. Judge Forse's wisdom has weathered the test of time. His descendants still live in Newton County and still working for the good of this community.