Joel West Flood

Joel West Flood (August 2, 1894 – April 27, 1964), the brother of Henry De La Warr Flood and uncle of Harry Flood Byrd, was a Virginia lawyer, judge, and Democratic politician who briefly served as a United States Representative from Virginia from November 1932 to March 1933. His public career spanned local, state, and federal service during a period of significant political and economic change in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation.

Flood was born near Appomattox, Appomattox County, Virginia, on August 2, 1894. He was the son of Joel Walker Flood (1839–1916), a former major in the Confederate States Army and later a member of the Virginia General Assembly, and Sallie Whiteman Delk, whom his father had married in Philadelphia in 1892. Through his father’s earlier marriage, he had elder half siblings, including Eleanor Bolling Flood Byrd (1864–1957) and Henry De La Warr Flood (1866–1921), the latter a prominent Virginia congressman. Raised in a family deeply involved in public life and Democratic Party politics, Joel Flood grew up on the family plantation near Appomattox, which he would later manage himself.

Flood received his early education in the public schools of Appomattox and Richmond, Virginia. He then pursued higher education at Washington and Lee University, where he completed his undergraduate studies. Continuing his preparation for a legal career, he attended the University of Virginia School of Law, from which he received a law degree, and he also undertook further study at Oxford University. His legal training, combined with his family’s political connections, positioned him for an active role in Virginia’s legal and political affairs.

After his father’s death and his admission to the Virginia bar in 1917, Flood began the practice of law in Appomattox, Virginia. He also assumed responsibility for what remained of the family plantation, maintaining his ties to the agricultural life of the region. During World War I, he entered military service and served as a private in Company A, 305th Engineers, 80th Division, from March 29, 1918, until his discharge on July 18, 1919. His wartime service was followed by a rapid rise in local public office. In 1919, the voters of Appomattox County elected him Commonwealth’s attorney, a position that had previously been held by his half-brother Henry D. Flood. He was re-elected multiple times and served in that capacity until November 8, 1932.

In addition to his work as Commonwealth’s attorney, Flood became an important figure in Virginia’s Democratic political structure. Following his return from military service, he joined the emerging Byrd Organization, the influential political network built by his nephew, Harry F. Byrd, after the death of Senator Thomas Staples Martin. Flood served as an assistant to Governor E. Lee Trinkle of Virginia from 1922 to 1926, gaining experience in state executive administration. He later served as special assistant to the Attorney General of Virginia from April 1, 1928, to July 1, 1932, further solidifying his reputation as a capable attorney and public servant.

Flood entered national office when he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Henry St. George Tucker. He represented Virginia in the Seventy-second Congress from November 8, 1932, to March 3, 1933. His tenure coincided with the final months of the Hoover administration and the onset of the New Deal era, a significant period in American history. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Virginia, Joel West Flood contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents. However, following redistricting after the 1930 census, the seat he held was eliminated, and he was not a candidate for election to the Seventy-third Congress.

After leaving Congress, Flood returned to his legal practice and agricultural pursuits in Virginia. He remained active in Democratic Party affairs and served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1936, reflecting his continued influence within the party. On June 1, 1939, he was appointed assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Virginia, a post he held until January 28, 1940. In January 1940, the Virginia General Assembly elected him judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Virginia. In this judicial capacity, he presided over a broad range of civil and criminal matters and continued to serve on the bench for the remainder of his life.

Joel West Flood died at the Richmond Veterans Administration Hospital in Chesterfield, Virginia, on April 27, 1964. He was interred in the Flood Mausoleum on the Appomattox Courthouse Square in Appomattox, Virginia, returning in death to the community where his legal and political career had begun.