Chief Justice Taylor Stukes was born in Manning. He attended Davidson College and Washington and Lee University and received his LL.B., cum laude, in 1919. Erskine College awarded him an LL.D. in 1969. He served as a Lieutenant in World War I. He practiced law in Manning and married Miss Georgie Sauls of Manning in 1923.
A leader in the State Legislature for many years, he was elected Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court in 1940 and Chief Justice in 1956.
The decisions of Justice Stukes show marked intellectual powers and knowledge of the law. As a man, he was characterized by enduring affection for his State, devotion to his family and church, where he was a Ruling Elder in Manning Presbyterian Church and, in 1956, was Moderator of the Synod of South Carolina. He was gracious and modest — a man of performance, with a high sense of responsibility — one of our greatest Chief Justices.