John Stanley Webster (February 22, 1877 – December 24, 1962) was a justice of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. ...

, a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington (in case citations, E.D. Wash.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of the state of Washington: Adams, Asotin, Benton, Ch ...

Education and career

Born on February 22, 1877, in Cynthiana, Harrison County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, Webster attended the public schools and Smith's Classical School for Boys. He attended the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Cynthiana from 1899 to 1906. He was prosecutor for Harrison County from 1902 to 1906. He moved west for his health to work a small ranch near Colbert,

, just north of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

, Washington in May 1906. He was chief assistant prosecutor for Spokane from 1907 to 1909. He was a Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Washington for

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest c ...

from 1909 to 1916. He was a lecturer on criminal and elementary law at

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

in Spokane. Webster was easily elected to a six-year term as an associate justice of the

in Olympia in 1916, and appointed early, November 20 by Governor

Ernest Lister Ernest Lister (June 15, 1870June 14, 1919) was an American politician who served as the eighth governor of Washington from 1913 to 1919. Biography Born in Halifax, England, Lister immigrated with his family in 1884, to be near his uncle, who w ...

, to fill the vacancy. He resigned in May 1918 to run for

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Congressional service

Webster was elected as a Republican from

Washington's 5th congressional district Washington's 5th congressional district encompasses the Eastern Washington counties of Ferry County, Washington, Ferry, Stevens County, Washington, Stevens, Pend Oreille County, Washington, Pend Oreille, Lincoln County, Washington, Lincoln, Spok ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

of the 66th, 67th and

68th United States Congress The 68th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 192 ...

es and served from March 4, 1919, to May 8, 1923, when he resigned to accept a federal judgeship.

Federal judicial service

Webster received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

on April 28, 1923, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Frank H. Rudkin. He was nominated to the same position by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

on December 15, 1923. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on January 16, 1924, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status due to a certified disability on August 31, 1939. His service terminated on December 24, 1962, due to his death in Spokane, where he resided. His remains were cremated and interred in Oakesdale Cemetery in Oakesdale, Washington, his wife's hometown in Whitman County, where her father John Lathrum (1853–1902) had been

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

. Mary Gertrude (Lathrum) Webster (1887–1956), his wife of 48 years, had died six years earlier. His older brother, Richard M. Webster (1869–1953), moved to eastern Washington in 1904 and also served as a judge in Spokane.

Other service

Webster briefly served as the president of the

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942, and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League ...

(WIL) in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, a predecessor of the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

, and resigned in February 1941.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Temple of Justice.org
– Justice John Stanley Webster
Washington Secretary of State
– History Makers – John Stanley Webster

– John Stanley Webster – papers 1901-1963 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, John Stanley 1877 births 1962 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington United States district court judges appointed by Warren G. Harding University of Michigan Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives