People, Locations, Episodes

Theodore Boone, Lawyer born.

Theodore Boone

Theodore Sylvester Boone was born on this date in 1896. He was a Black attorney, pastor, author, and editor.

Born in Winchester, Texas, Boone was the son of Alexander and Lillian (Chaney) Boone. He attended Terrell High School in Terrell, Texas, and several universities, including Prairie View A&M and Bishop College in Texas.  From 1918 to 1920, he studied at Des Moines University and the University of Iowa.  In 1921, one year after graduation, he wrote a book titled "Paramount Facts in Race Development."

In 1922, he attended the University of Chicago and the Chicago Law School and published "Laws of Trusts and Trustees." Boone practiced law in Indianapolis and was admitted to that state's state Supreme Court and the United States district courts.

He married Ruby Beatrice Alexander in December 1921. In 1924, he began a spiritual lifestyle, attending Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, AR, and later that year, serving as pastor of the Eighth Street Baptist Church in Temple, Texas.

While serving as editor-in-chief of the Western Star, a Black Baptist church publication, Boone wrote "Race Migration, Its Cause, and Cure" in 1924. He was the secretary of the Texas delegation to the National Baptist Convention that year and in 1925. In 1926, he wrote "History of Negro Baptists in Texas" and edited "Flaming Sword," a monthly magazine published in Indianapolis.

Boone was a Republican, a Mason, Kappa Alpha Psi, and the Odd Fellows member. He eventually moved to Detroit, where he was pastor of a church. He died on May 23, 1973.

To Become a Lawyer