Harry J. Capehart

Honorable Harry J. Capehart
Portrait of Capehart, published in 1923
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from McDowell County
In office 1919–1925 Serving with Luther C. Anderson (1919–1921) Clarence C. Hale (1919–1921) William J. McClaren (1919–1921) E. W. Cullen (1921–1923) J. A. Strother (1921–1925) H. L. Tutwiler (1921–1923) W. E. Eubank (1923–1925) McGinnis Hatfield (1923–1925)
Preceded by	Harvey Hagerman E. Howard Harper J. Buell Swope Robert F. Waldron
Succeeded by	Brooks F. Beavers E. W. Cullen E. Howard Harper Simon Solins
Member of the Howard University Board of Trustees
In office 1943–1952
Personal details
Born	(1881-05-02)May 2, 1881 Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Died	May 15, 1955(1955-05-15) (aged 74) Bluefield, West Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	Oak Grove Cemetery, Bluewell, West Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Anna Livingstone Hurley Capehart
Children	Harry Jheopart Capehart Jr. Arthur Froe Capehart
Parent(s)	Joseph Capehart (father) Maggie Woodyard Capehart (mother)
Alma mater	Fairview Normal College Howard University School of Law
Profession	Lawyer, politician, and businessperson
Signature

Harry Jheopart Capehart Sr. (May 2, 1881 – May 15, 1955) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessperson in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Capehart served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing McDowell County for three consecutive terms, from 1919 to 1925. He also served as an assessor, city councilperson, and city attorney for Keystone, West Virginia.

Capehart was born in 1881 in Charleston, West Virginia. He was educated in Charleston's public schools, attended Fairview Normal College in Proctorville, Ohio, and earned his Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) with honors from Howard University School of Law in 1913. Within one week of his graduation from Howard, Capehart was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The same year, he opened a law office in Keystone.

Capehart was active in the West Virginia Republican Party and became a party leader in McDowell County. After serving as Keystone's city assessor and as a city councilperson, Capehart was elected to three consecutive terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates representing McDowell County. As a house member, Capehart accomplished several significant legislative achievements. In 1919, he introduced House Bill (H.B.) 15, which established a state institution for West Virginia's African-American deaf and blind students under the management of the state's Board of Control. And in 1921, Capehart introduced H.B. 270, which established penalties for lynchings and became known as the Capehart Anti-Lynch Law.

Following his tenure in the West Virginia House of Delegates, Capehart was appointed an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia in 1932, and in 1934, he was appointed a conciliation commissioner for the Farm Credit Administration during the Great Depression. Capehart continued to be active in the Republican Party at the national, state, and local levels. He served as the director of the Colored Division of the West Virginia Republican Party Headquarters, and he chaired the Republican National Committee (RNC) Eastern Colored Division Planning Board for the Wendell Willkie campaign leading up to the 1940 United States presidential election. In 1937, the National Bar Association appointed Capehart as its regional director for Virginia and West Virginia. He died in 1955 in Bluefield, West Virginia.