"Seems the mistake is in the 1940 census." - slimboyfat
Yes this could be true. I have found mistakes in different census years in regard to my mother. If the newspaper was incorrect, the Judge probably would have sued them because they had besmirched his 'good name'. Anything is possible and the newspaper could have made a mistake. Interestingly enough, at approximately the same time period, there was another Virginia Rutherford from Versailles, Missouri and her father's name was J. C. Rutherford! She was married to an A.L. Ross.