Maine Genealogy
Source: Norman L. Bassett, ed., Report of the Maine State Bar Association for 1920 and 1921 (Augusta, Me.: Press of Charles E. Nash & Son, 1921).
[p. 242]CHRONOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT1. PRENTISS MELLEN. Born in Sterling, Massachusetts, October 11, 1764. Graduated at Harvard, 1784. Admitted to the Bar at Taunton, Massachusetts, October Term 1788. U. S. Senator from Massachusetts 1817 to 1820; Resigned when appointed Chief Justice of Maine, July 1, 1820. Served until October 11, 1834. Died at Portland, December 31, 1840, aged seventy-six. (See 17 Maine, 467.) (Me. Hist. Soc. vol. V. p. XXII.) (Green Bag, vol. 7. p. 464.)
By Chief Justice Cornish
CHIEF JUSTICES
2. NATHAN WESTON, Jr. Born in Augusta, July 27, 1782. Graduated at Dartmouth 1803. Admitted to Bar in Boston, Massachusetts, July 1806. Appointed Chief Justice 2nd Circuit Court of District of Maine in 1811; Associate Justice Supreme Judicial Court July 1,[p. 243]1820; Chief Justice October 22, 1834 to October 21, 1841. Died at Augusta June 4, 1782 [sic], aged almost 90 years. (33 Maine, 593; 59 Maine, 600.) (Green Bag, Vol. 7, p. 468.)
3. EZEKIEL WHITMAN. Born at East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, March 9, 1776. Graduated at Brown University 1795. Admitted to Plymouth Massachusetts Bar 1799. Settled New Gloucester, Maine, 1799. Member of Congress 1809-1811. Chief Justice of Court of Common Pleas 1822 to 1841. Chief Justice of Supreme Judicial Court 1841 to 1848. Died in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts August 1, 1866, aged 90. (Willis Courts & Lawyers of Maine, p. 289.) (Green Bag, vol. 7, p. 470.)
4. ETHER SHEPLEY. Born in Groton, Massachusetts, November 2, 1789. Graduated at Dartmouth 1811. Began practice Saco, 1814. U. S. District Attorney 1821-1833. U. S. Senator 1833 to 1836. Associate Justice Supreme Judicial Court September 23, 1836, to October 23, 1848; Chief Justice October 23, 1848, to October 22, 1855. Died in Portland January 15, 1877, aged 87. (Me. Hist. Soc. vol. VII, p. 409.) (66 Maine, 593.) (Green Bag, vol. 7, p. 504.)
5. JOHN SEARLE TENNEY. Born at Rowley, now Byfield, Massachusetts, January 21, 1793. Graduated at Bowdoin, 1816. Admitted to Bar 1820. Associate Justice October 23, 1841 to October 23, 1855. Chief Justice, October 23, 1855 to October 23, 1862. Died at Norridgewock August 23, 1869, aged 75. (56 Maine, 583.) (Green Bag, vol. 7, p. 508.)
6. JOHN APPLETON. Born at New Ipswich, New Hampshire July 12, 1804. Graduated at Bowdoin 1822. Admitted to the Bar 1826. Appointed Associate Justice May 11, 1852; Chief Justice October 24, 1862, and served till September 19, 1883. Died at Bangor February 7, 1891, aged eighty-six. (83 Maine, 587.) (Green Bag, vol. 7, p. 510.)
7. JOHN A. PETERS. Born in Ellsworth, Maine, October 9, 1822. Graduated at Yale 1842, Harvard[p. 244]Law School, 1843-4. Admitted to Hancock Bar August 1844, Attorney General 1864-1867. Representative to Congress 1867 to 1873. Appointed Associate Justice May 20, 1873; Chief Justice September 20, 1883. Resigned January 1, 1900. Died in Bangor April 2, 1904, aged 81. (99 Maine, 541.) (Green Bag, vol. 7, p. 516.)
8. ANDREW P. WISWELL. Born in Ellsworth, Maine, July 11, 1852. Graduated Bowdoin, 1873. Admitted to Hancock Bar 1874. Speaker Maine House of Representatives 1891. Appointed Associate Justice April 10, 1893; Chief Justice January 2, 1900, and served until his death, December 4, 1906, aged 54. (102 Maine, 539.) (8 Green Bag, 19.)
9. LUCILIUS A. EMERY. Born in Carmel, Maine, July 27, 1840. Graduated at Bowdoin 1861. Admitted to Penobscot Bar 1863. Settled in Ellsworth 1863. Attorney General 1876-1879. Appointed Associate Justice October 5, 1883; Chief Justice December 14, 1906. Resigned July 27, 1911. Died in Ellsworth August 26, 1920, aged 80. (120 Maine.) (7 Green Bag, 559.)
10. WILLIAM PENN WHITEHOUSE. Born in Vassalborough, Maine, April 9, 1842. Graduated at Waterville College, now Colby, 1863. Admitted to Kennebec Bar October, 1865. Appointed Justice of Superior Court, Kennebec County, 1878; Associate Justice Supreme Judicial Court April 15, 1890; Chief Justice July 26, 1911. Resigned April 8, 1913. Residence Augusta. (8 Green Bag, 14.)
11. ALBERT R. SAVAGE. Born in Ryegate, Vermont, December 8, 1847. Graduated at Dartmouth, 1871. Admitted to Androscoggin Bar, April 1875. Speaker Maine House of Representatives 1893. Appointed Associate Justice May 15, 1897; Chief Justice April 9, 1913. Died at Auburn, June 14, 1917, aged 70. (116 Maine, 533.)
12. LESLIE C. CORNISH. Born in Winslow, Maine, October 8, 1854. Graduated at Colby 1875. Studied at Harvard Law School 1879-1880. Admitted to Kenne-[p. 245]bec Bar October Term 1880. Appointed Associate Justice March 31, 1907; Chief Justice June 25, 1917. Residence Augusta.ASSOCIATE JUSTICES1. WILLIAM PITT PREBLE. Born in York, Maine, November 27, 1783. Graduated at Harvard 1806. Admitted to York Bar 1811. Appointed U. S. District Attorney 1814. Appointed Associate Justice July 1, 1820. Resigned June 18, 1828. Died October 11, 1857, aged 74.
(Not including those already mentioned who also served
as Chief Justices.)
2. ALBION K. PARRIS. Born in Hebron, Maine, January 19, 1778. Graduated at Dartmouth 1806. Admitted to Cumberland Bar September 1809. Representative to Congress 1815-1818. United States District Judge 1818-1822. Governor 1822-1827. United States Senator 1827-1828. Appointed Associate Justice June 25, 1828. Resigned August 20, 1836. Died in Portland February 11, 1857, aged 79. (Me. Hist. Soc. vol. V, p. XXXIX and series II, vol. IX, p. 141.)
3. NICHOLAS EMERY. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, September 4, 1776. Graduated Dartmouth 1795. Admitted to Bar and settled in Parsonsfield, Maine 1798, in Portland 1807 Appointed Associate Justice October 22, 1834, and served until October 21, 1841. Died in Portand, August 24, 1861, aged 85.
4. SAMUEL WELLS. Born in Durham, New Hampshire August 15, 1801. Studied law with Thomas Rice of Winslow. Admitted to Kennebec Bar 1826. Appointed Associate Justice September 28, 1847. Resigned March 31, 1854. Governor, 1856. Died at Boston, Massachusetts July 15, 1868, aged 67.[p. 246]5. JOSEPH HOWARD. Born in Brownfield, Maine, March 14, 1800. Graduated at Bowdoin, 1821. Admitted to the bar in 1824. United States District Attorney 1837-1841. Appointed Associate Justice October 23, 1848. Served until October 22, 1855. Died at Brownfield, Maine, December 12, 1877, aged 77. (67 Maine, 600.)
6. RICHARD D. RICE. Born in Union, Maine, April 11, 1810. Admitted to Kennebec Bar 1840. Appointed Associate Justice May 11, 1852, and served until his resignation, December 1, 1863. Died at Augusta, Maine, May 27, 1882, aged 72.
7. JOSHUA W. HATHAWAY. Born in the Province of New Brunswick November 10, 1797. Graduated at Bowdoin 1820. Admitted to Bar 1824. Appointed Judge of District Court 1848. Appointed Associate Justice May 11, 1852. Sewed until May 10, 1859. Died at Bangor, June 6, 1862, aged 64. (48 Maine, 599.)
8. JONAS CUTTING. Born Croydon, New Hampshire November 3, 1800. Graduated Dartmouth, 1823. Admitted Kennebec Bar 1826. Settled Bangor, 1831. Appointed Associate Justice April 20, 1854. Served until April 20, 1875. Died at Bangor, August 19, 1876, aged 76. (63 Maine, 595; 65 Maine, 599.) (Green Bag, vol. 8, p. 61.)
9. SETH MAY. Born in Winthrop, Maine, July 2, 1802. Admitted to Kennebec Bar 1831. Appointed Associate Justice May 6, 1855, and served until May 6, 1862. Died at Auburn, September 20, 1881, aged 79. (74 Maine, 601.)
10. WOODBURY DAVIS. Born at Standish, Maine, July 25, 1818. Admitted to Waldo Bar 1847. State Treasurer 1855. Appointed Associate Justice October 10, 1855, removed by address April 11, 1856, reappointed February 25, 1857; resigned 1865. Died at Portland, August 13, 1871, aged 53, (59 Maine, 593.)
11. DANIEL GOODENOW. Born at Henniker, New Hampshire, October. 30, 1793. Admitted to York[p. 247]County Bar, 1817. Attorney General 1838-9, and 1841-2. Appointed Associate Justice October 10, 1855. Served until October 10, 1862. Died at Alfred, Maine, October 7, 1863 aged 70. (50 Maine, 610.)
12. EDWARD KENT. Born at Concord, New Hampshire, January 8, 1802. Graduated at Harvard 1821. Admitted to Bar 1825, began practice in Bangor 1825. Governor 1838-9, 1841-2. Appointed Associate Justice May 11, 1859. Served until May 11, 1873. Died at Bangor, May 19, 1877, aged 75. (66 Maine, 602.) (Me. Hist. Soc. vol. VIII— 449.) (8 Green Bag, p. 70.)
13. CHARLES W. WALTON. Born in Mexico, Maine, December 9, 1819. Admitted to Oxford Bar in 1843. Representative to Congress 1861-2. Appointed Associate Justice May 14, 1862, and served until May 14, 1897, a period of 35 years, the longest service of any member of the Court. Died in Portland, January 24, 1900, aged 80. (90 Maine, 603; 94 Maine, 588.) (7 Green Bag, 553.)
14. JONATHAN G. DICKERSON. Born in New Chester (Hill) New Hampshire, November 5, 1811. Graduated at Waterville College, now Colby, 1836. Admitted to Lincoln County Bar 1839. Appointed Associate Justice October 24, 1862. Died in office, September 1, 1878, at Belfast, aged 67. (68 Maine, 595.)
15. EDWARD FOX. Born at Portland, Maine, June 9, 1815. Graduated at Harvard 1837. Admitted to Cumberland Bar 1837. Appointed Associate Justice October 24, 1862, and served until March 27, 1863, when he resigned to accept the United States District Judgeship, a period of five months, the shortest service of any member of the Court. Died at Portland, December 14, 1881, aged 66.
16. WILLIAM G. BARROWS. Born at Yarmouth, Maine, January 12, 1821. Graduated at Bowdoin College 1839. Admitted to Cumberland Bar 1842. Appointed Associate Justice March 27, 1863, and served until March 24, 1884. Died in Brunswick, April 6, 1886, aged 65. (78 Maine, 584.)[p. 248]17. CHARLES DANFORTH. Born in Norridgewock, Maine, August 1, 1815. Admitted to Somerset Bar in 1838. Settled in Gardiner 1841. Member Executive Council 1855. Appointed Associate Justice January 5, 1864, and served until his death March 30, 1890, aged 74. (82 Maine, 582.) (8 Green Bag, 111.)
18. RUFUS P. TAPLEY. Born in Danvers, Massachusetts, January 2, 1823. Admitted to York Bar, May Term 1848. Appointed Associate Justice December 21, 1865. Served until December 21, 1872. Died at Saco, April 10, 1893, aged 70. (85 Maine, 579.)
19. WILLIAM WIRT VIRGIN. Born in Rumford, Maine, September 18, 1823. Graduated Bowdoin 1844. Admitted to Oxford Bar. Colonel 23rd Maine Regiment in Civil War. President Maine Senate 1866. Reporter of Decisions 1866-1872. Appointed Associate Justice December 26, 1872. Served until his death in Portland, January 23, 1893, aged 70. (85 Maine, 550.) (8 Green Bag, 115.)
20. ARTEMAS LIBBEY. Born in Freedom, Maine, January 8, 1823. Admitted to Kennebec Bar, 1844. Member of Executive Council 1856. Member of Constitutional Commission 1875. Appointed Associate Justice April 24, 1875, and served until April 24, 1882. Reappointed January 11, 1883, and served until his death in Augusta, March 15, 1894, aged 71. (86 Maine, 584.) (8 Green Bag, 122.)
21. JOSEPH W. SYMONDS. Born in Raymond, Maine, September 2, 1840. Graduated Bowdoin 1860. Admitted to Cumberland County Bar 1863. Appointed Judge Superior Court of Cumberland County 1872; Associate Justice Supreme Judicial Court, October 16, 1878; resigned March 31, 1884. Died September 28, 1918, aged 78. (118 Maine, 581.)
22. ENOCH FOSTER. Born in Newry, Maine, May 10, 1839. Entered Bowdoin 1860. Soldier in Civil War 1861-1865. A. B. degree from Bowdoin 1865. Admitted to Oxford Bar 1865. Appointed Associate[p. 249]Justice March 24, 1884; served until March 24, 1898. Died in Portland November 17, 1913, aged 74. (112 Maine, 565.) (8 Green Bag, 563.)
23. THOMAS H. HASKELL. Born in New Gloucester, Maine, May 18, 1842. Soldier in the Civil War. Admitted to Androscoggin Bar 1865. Removed to Portland 1866. Appointed Associate Justice March 31, 1884, and served until his death September 24, 1900, aged 58. (95 Maine, 590.) (8 Green Bag, 570.)
24. SEWALL C. STROUT. Born in Wales, Maine, February 17, 1827. Admitted to Cumberland Bar 1848. Settled in Portland 1854. Appointed Associate Justice April 12, 1894. Served until April 12, 1908. Died in Portland, August 10, 1914, aged 87. (113 Maine, 575.) (8 Green Bag, 23.)
25. WILLIAM H. FOGLER. Born in Lincolnville, Maine, August 10, 1837. Student at Waterville College 1859-60. Admitted to the Waldo Bar 1862. Colonel 19th Maine Volunteers in the Civil War. Removed from Belfast to Rockland 1890. Appointed Associate Justice March 25, 1898, and served until his death February 18, 1902, aged 64. (96 Maine, 577.)
26. FREDERICK A. POWERS. Born in Pittsfield, Maine, June 19, 1855. Bowdoin College, class of 1875. Admitted to Aroostook Bar 1876. Attorney General 1893-1897. Appointed Associate Justice January 2, 1900, and served until his resignation March 31, 1907. Now resides in Houlton.
27. HENRY C. PEABODY. Born in Gilead, Maine, April 14, 1838. Graduated Dartmouth 1859. Admitted to Cumberland Bar 1862. Judge of Probate 1880-1900. Appointed Associate Justice November 29, 1900, and served until his death March 29, 1911, aged 73. (107 Maine, 549.)
28. ALBERT M. SPEAR. Born in Madison, Maine, March 17, 1852. Graduated Bates, 1875. Admitted to Kennebec Bar 1878. President Maine Senate 1893.[p. 250]Appointed Associate Justice March 1, 1902. Served until March 1, 1914. Reappointed June 25, 1917. Resides at Augusta.
29. CHARLES F. WOODARD. Born in Bangor, Maine, April 19, 1848. Graduated Harvard 1870; Harvard Law School 1872. Admitted to Penobscot Bar October 1, 1872. Appointed Associate Justice December 14, 1906. Died in office, June 17, 1907, aged 59. (103 Maine, 559.)
30. ARNO W. KING. Born in Lamoine, Maine, August 2, 1855. Colby, class of 1883; Boston University Law School 1883. Admitted Hancock Bar October Term 1883. Appointed Associate Justice June 28, 1907, and served until his death, July 21, 1918, aged 63. (118 Maine, 561.)
31. GEORGE E. BIRD. Born Portland, Maine, September 1, 1847. Graduated Harvard 1869. Admitted to Cumberland Bar, 1872. United States District Attorney 1885-1890. Appointed Associate Justice April 13, 1908, and served until his resignation August 28, 1918. Residence, Portland.
32. GEORGE F. HALEY. Born in Saco, Maine, January 30, 1856. Admitted to York Bar 1881. Appointed Associate Justice April 12, 1911, and served until his death February 19, 1918, aged 62. (117 Maine, 585.)
33. GEORGE M. HANSON. Born at Elmsville, New Brunswick, August 28, 1856. Admitted to Washington County Bar, October Term 1877. Appointed Associate Justice July 26, 1911, and reappointed July 26, 1918. Resides at Calais.
34. WARREN C. PHILBROOK. Born in Sedgwick, Maine, November 30, 1857. Graduated Colby 1882. Admitted to Kennebec Bar 1884. Attorney General 1909-1911. Appointed Associate Justice April 9, 1913. Reappointed April 9, 1920. Residence, Waterville.[p. 251]35. JOHN B. MADIGAN. Born in Houlton, Maine, January 4, 1863. Graduated Georgetown University, 1883; Boston University Law School 1886. Admitted Aroostook Bar September Term 1885. Appointed Associate Justice March 1, 1916, and served until his death, January 19, 1918, aged 55. (117 Maine, 597.)
36. CHARLES J. DUNN. Born Houghton, Michigan, July 14, 1872. Admitted to Hancock County Bar, January Term 1892. Appointed Associate Justice, January 28, 1918. Resides at Orono, Maine.
37. JOHN A. MORRILL. Born Auburn, Maine, June 3, 1855. Graduated Bowdoin 1876. Admitted to Androscoggin Bar, February 12, 1880. Commissioner to Revise Statutes of 1903 and 1916. Judge of Probate 1913-1918. Appointed Associate Justice February 25, 1918. Residence, Auburn, Maine.
38. SCOTT WILSON. Born in Falmouth, Maine, January 11, 1870. Graduated Bates 1892. Admitted to Cumberland Bar 1895. Attorney General 1913-1915. Appointed Associate Justice, August 7, 1918. Residence, Portland.
39. LUERE B. DEASY. Born in Gouldsborough, Maine, February 8, 1859. Admitted to Hancock Bar, October Term 1883. President Maine Senate 1909. Appointed Associate Justice, September 25, 1918. Residence, Bar Harbor.
