ðɛɹ lˈɔɪɚ fˈɑːðɚ hɐdbɪn ɐ mˈeɪdʒɚɹ ɪnðə jˈuːniən ˈɑːɹmi wɪððə nˈuː jˈɔːɹk vˌɑːləntˈɪɹz, ænd ˈæftɚ ɹᵻtˈaɪɚɹɪŋ dˈuː tʊ ˈɪndʒɚɹiz ɪŋkˈɜːd æt ðə bˈæɾəl ʌv tʃˈænsɪlɚzvˌɪl, hiː sˈɜːvd æz ɐ lˈoʊkəl pɹˈɑːsɪkjˌuːɾɚ, ðˈɛn bɹˈiːfli æz ɐ tɹˈaɪəl dʒˈʌdʒ ænd ɔnðə suːpɹˈiːm kˈoːɹt ʌv ɐpˈiːlz fɔːɹ vɜːdʒˈɪniə.
Their lawyer father had been a major in the Union Army with the New York Volunteers, and after retiring due to injuries incurred at the Battle of Chancellorsville, he served as a local prosecutor, then briefly as a trial judge and on the Supreme Court of Appeals for Virginia.