Honorable Armistead Abraham Lilly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 16th Attorney General of West Virginia | |
| In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917[1] | |
| Governor | Henry D. Hatfield |
| Preceded by | William G. Conley |
| Succeeded by | Edward T. England |
| Prosecuting Attorney for Raleigh County | |
| In office 1904–1908 | |
| Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from Raleigh County | |
| In office 1901–1903 | |
| Preceded by | N. A. Snuffer |
| Succeeded by | W. S. Steele |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 25, 1878 Jumping Branch, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 21, 1956 (aged 78) Ruffner Hotel, Charleston, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Elizabeth Glenn Lilly |
| Children | Goff P. Lilly Robert Glenn Lilly Thelma Lilly Wade |
| Parent(s) | Robert C. Lilly (father) Virginia Gore Lilly (mother) |
| Alma mater | Concord State Normal School Southern Normal University Law Department (LL.B.) |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician, and businessperson |
Armistead Abraham "Cousin Abe" Lilly (March 25, 1878 – June 21, 1956) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessperson in the U.S. state of West Virginia. A Republican, Lilly served as the 16th Attorney General of West Virginia from March 4, 1913, until March 3, 1917.
Lilly was born in Jumping Branch, West Virginia, in 1878, and was raised in nearby Raleigh County. He attended the county's public schools and completed high school in Bluefield, then graduated from Concord State Normal School in 1891 and earned his Bachelor of Laws from the Law Department of Southern Normal University in 1900. That same year, Lilly was admitted to the Raleigh County bar and elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. In 1904, he was elected prosecuting attorney for Raleigh County, a position he held until 1908. Following the 1908 United States presidential election, Lilly was a presidential elector for William Howard Taft.
Lilly unsuccessfully ran for West Virginia's 5th congressional district seat in 1910, losing against James A. Hughes, and was later elected state attorney general in 1912. During his tenure as attorney general, Lilly was involved with the Virginia debt case, railroad rate cases, and cases related to charges of bribery against members of the state legislature. In 1916, Lilly was defeated by 134 votes by Ira E. Robinson in the Republican primary for West Virginia governor. In 1922, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat. Afterward, he served as a delegate at several Republican National Conventions, serving as the state chairperson at the 1936 convention. Lilly relocated to Charleston, where he served as president of the Virginian Rubber and Williamson Paint Manufacturing companies, and was primary owner of the Ruffner Hotel, where he resided in the penthouse until his death in 1956.
- ^ Harris 1917, p. 338.