Benjamin Milton Willoughby (April 8, 1855 – June 29, 1940) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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, and

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. He served as a justice of the

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from January 6, 1919, to January 7, 1931.

Biography

Willoughby was born in Ripley County,

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to Milton Willoughby (of English descent, originally from

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) and Phoebe Willoughby (née Osborn, originally from Batavia,

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). Benjamin Willoughby was the second of their eight children. In 1873, Willoughby moved to

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, where he attended school. He came to

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

in 1875. He graduated from high school in Vincennes in 1876 and moved to Petersburg, where he became the principal of the grammar department at the local high school. In 1877, he began

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under the tutelage of Capt. George G. Reily. From 1877 to 1878, he taught school in Sandborn. In 1878, he began studying law at

Cincinnati College The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, graduating in 1879 and being admitted to the bar the same year.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is the law school of Indiana University Indianapolis, a public research university in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has been based in Lawrence W. Inlow Hall in Indianapolis ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
Willoughby returned to Vincennes to practice law. In 1882, he opened a practice in partnership with Louis A. Meyer, a

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immigrant, forming the firm of Meyer & Willoughby. The firm found much success, partially thanks to Meyer's ability to speak

, which attracted many clients who were German immigrants. Willoughby was served in the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

from 1895 to 1899. Willoughy was a lifelong Republican. In 1899, Willoughby was offered a position in the administration of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

as U.S.

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, but he declined the offer. In 1900, Willoughby became the first President of a newly formed

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

in Vincennes. Willoughby became a judge for Indiana's 12th

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in 1912, a position he held until 1918. Willoughby also served as President of the Vincennes Northern & Southern Traction Company, incorporated in 1911, which constructed railroad tracks that connected Vincennes to the rest of Knox County and Sullivan County. Willoughby became a justice of the

in 1919. His time on the court saw numerous challenges to Indiana's new

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

laws and the rise of the

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's influence on Indiana politics. The KKK and the Indiana

Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League, now known as the American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems, is an organization of the temperance movement in the United States. Founded in 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio, it was a key component of the Progressive Era, an ...

created a powerful alliance that would target and attempt to oust elected officials in Indiana who were critical of Prohibition. Willoughby emerged as a leading critic of Prohibition and became a personal enemy of the Rev. Dr. E.S. Shumaker, superintendent of the Indiana Anti-Saloon League. Willoughby and his fellow Justices found Shumaker in

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

for spreading

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ous information regarding the court's handling of cases regarding Prohibition law violations. The court ordered Shumaker jailed for sixty days.

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Edward L. Jackson Edward L. Jackson (December 27, 1873 – November 18, 1954) was an American attorney, judge and politician, elected the 32nd governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from January 12, 1925, to January 14, 1929. He had also been elected as Secreta ...

attempted to

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

Shumaker, but the court overturned the pardon, ruling that the Governor did not have the power to pardon those found in contempt by the Supreme Court. In 1930, Willoughby was defeated in his bid for re-election following a challenge for the Republican nomination by Thomas B. Coulter, judge of the Knox County Circuit Court. Shumaker, Anti-Saloon League, and the KKK threw their support behind Coulter, leading him to barely prevail over Willoughby in an extremely close contest, though Coulter was later defeated in the general election by Willoughby's eventual successor,

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Walter E. Treanor. In 1880, Willoughby became a Scottish Rite Mason. Over his lifetime, he held various leadership positions as the Vincennes Masonic Lodge. He was twice commissioned as a Representative of the Grand Lodge of Illinois; first in 1889 and then again in 1895. He was also a

Shriner Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over 200 chapters ...

and a member of the

Columbia Club The Columbia Club is a private club located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The club was founded in 1889 and the current structure was built in 1925 as the club's third home on the same site. Club history Th ...

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. In 1912, Willoughby married Edith Getches in Vincennes. Willoughby died in 1940 in Vincennes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willoughby, Benjamin 1855 births 1940 deaths American people of English descent People from Ripley County, Indiana University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court American judges American Freemasons