Charles M. Webb

Charles M. Webb
Charles M. Webb
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 7th Circuit
	In office; 1883 – August 12, 1911
Appointed by	Jeremiah McLain Rusk
Preceded by	Gilbert L. Park
Succeeded by	Byron B. Park
United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin
	In office; July 1870 – February 14, 1878
President	Ulysses S. Grant; Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	John B. D. Cogswell; (District of Wisconsin);
Succeeded by	H. M. Lewis
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
	In office; January 1, 1883 – April 1883
Preceded by	Thomas B. Scott
Succeeded by	Merritt Clarke Ring
Constituency	11th Senate district
	In office; January 1, 1869 – January 1, 1871
Preceded by	E. L. Browne
Succeeded by	Myron Reed
Constituency	27th Senate district
Mayor of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin
	In office; 1880–1881
District Attorney of Wood County
	In office; January 1, 1859 – September 1861
Personal details
Born	December 30, 1833; Towanda, Pennsylvania
Died	August 12, 1911 (aged 77); Grand Rapids, Wisconsin
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery; Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Prudence Jane Pierce; (m. 1857; died 1914);
Children	Clara (Harvie); (b. 1865; died 1948); 2 other daughters;
Parents	John Leland Webb (father); Annis (Hammond) Webb (mother);
Relatives	James H. Webb (brother); William C. Webb (brother); Henry G. Webb (brother); Leland Justin Webb (nephew);
Occupation	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Volunteers (Union Army)
Years of service	1861–1862
Rank	1st Lieutenant, USV
Unit	12th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Charles Morton Webb (December 30, 1833 – August 12, 1911) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a Wisconsin circuit court judge for 28 years in central Wisconsin. Earlier in his career, he served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, appointed by Ulysses S. Grant, and served in the Wisconsin Senate during the 1869, 1870, and 1883 sessions.

His brothers, James H. Webb, William C. Webb, and Henry G. Webb, were also prominent lawyers and politicians. Their father, John Leland Webb, was a politician in Pennsylvania.

Biography[edit]

Charles Morton Webb was born on December 30, 1833, in Towanda, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five children born to John L. Webb and Annis (Hammond) Webb.^[1] Webb received a basic education there, but left school at age 12 to work as a typesetter in a printing office. He attended the United States Military Academy for one year, in 1850, but then moved to Washington, D.C., to work for three years in the Government Publishing Office, where he was exposed to many of the debates taking place in the pre-Civil War capitol. He was inspired to a career in law and returned home to study with the leading lawyer in his home city. He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and that same year he married Jane Pierce.^[2]

His brothers, William and Henry had earlier traveled west to Wisconsin, and, in 1857, Charles Webb and his wife followed. In 1858, Charles worked as a clerk for the Wisconsin State Assembly while his brother William was a member.^[2] He moved to Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, in April 1858, where he would reside until his death.^[3]^[4] He was elected District Attorney of Wood County, Wisconsin, in 1858 and was re-elected in 1860, but resigned in 1861 to volunteer for service in the American Civil War.^[5]

Webb has commissioned a 1st Lieutenant for Company G in the 12th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment as it was organized in Madison, Wisconsin. They mustered into service in October 1961 and marched out in December en route to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They were attached to the Department of Kansas, operating in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. The regiment patrolled and garrisoned in the Leavenworth area through the spring of 1862. In May 1862, after serving eight months, Webb resigned his commission and returned to Wisconsin.^[5]

Back in Wood County, he was elected Clerk of the County Board of Supervisors in 1864, and was re-elected in 1866.^[2] In 1868, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate as a Republican, serving in the 1869 and 1870 sessions. In the summer of 1870, after the end of the legislative session—which ran from January 12 through March 17—Webb was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin by President Ulysses S. Grant. He was re-appointed in 1874 and continued in office until 1878. In 1880, he was elected Mayor of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, and was re-elected in 1881. In the fall of 1881, he was appointed register of the United States General Land Office in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, but resigned the following summer to return to Wisconsin.^[5]^[2]

He was elected to another term in the State Senate in 1882, but he would again leave before the end of his term in late 1883, when he was appointed to the Wisconsin Circuit Court by Governor Jeremiah McLain Rusk. Webb would remain Judge of the 7th Circuit for the remaining 28 years of his life, winning re-election five times, in 1884, 1890, 1896, 1902, and 1908. However, he would attempt several times to seek higher office: In 1893, he ran for election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but was defeated by Alfred Newman;^[6] in 1894, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Governor against William H. Upham.^[2] Webb was, after the 1894 election, offered an appointment to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor Upham, but he declined.^[5]

Webb died on August 12, 1911.

Electoral history[edit]

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1893)[edit]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1893^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 7, 1893
	Nonpartisan	Alfred W. Newman	123,476	61.93%
	Nonpartisan	Charles M. Webb	73,803	37.02%
		Scattering	2,092	1.05%
Total votes			199,371	100.0%

References[edit]

^ Wisconsin Legislature-Senate. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin. 1870. p. 355. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Arthur, Frederick W. (1920). "In Memoriam". Wisconsin Reports, Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin (Report). Vol. 170. Geo. Banta Publishing Co. pp. I, Ii, Iii, Iiii, Iiv, Iv. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
^ "Charles M. Webb 1833 - 1911". Adams County Press. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
^ 'Report of the Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin,' vol. 10, Wisconsin Bar Association: 1915, Biographical Sketch of William M. Webb, pg. 30-31
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Berryman, John R. (1898). History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin. Vol. 2. H.C. Cooper, Jr., & Co. pp. 286-287. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
^ Winslow, John Bradley (1912). "Changes since 1880". The story of a great court. T.H. Flood and Co. p. 381. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
^ Casson, Henry, ed. (1895). "Part III. Election statistics". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 349. Retrieved December 23, 2019.

[1] Wisconsin Legislature-Senate. The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin. 1870. p. 355. Retrieved October 19, 2013.

[reports-2] Arthur, Frederick W. (1920). "In Memoriam". Wisconsin Reports, Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin (Report). Vol. 170. Geo. Banta Publishing Co. pp. I, Ii, Iii, Iiii, Iiv, Iv. Retrieved November 19, 2019.

[3] "Charles M. Webb 1833 - 1911". Adams County Press. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2013.

[4] 'Report of the Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin,' vol. 10, Wisconsin Bar Association: 1915, Biographical Sketch of William M. Webb, pg. 30-31

[bench-5] Berryman, John R. (1898). History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin. Vol. 2. H.C. Cooper, Jr., & Co. pp. 286-287. Retrieved November 19, 2019.

[6] Winslow, John Bradley (1912). "Changes since 1880". The story of a great court. T.H. Flood and Co. p. 381. Retrieved November 19, 2019.

[bb1895-7] Casson, Henry, ed. (1895). "Part III. Election statistics". The Blue Book of the state of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 349. Retrieved December 23, 2019.

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