Jay Ward Carver (February 19, 1881 – July 22, 1942) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

lawyer who served as state Attorney General.

Biography

J. Ward Carver was born in

Calais, Vermont Calais is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,661 at the 2020 census. Calais contains the unincorporated communities of Adamant, East Calais, North Calais, Kent's Corner, Maple Corner and Pekin. Histor ...

on February 19, 1881. He was raised in Marshfield, graduated from Montpelier High School, and then graduated from Goddard Seminary in 1900. While teaching school Carver studied law with Barre attorney John W. Gordon, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1905, and practiced in Barre. A Republican, he served as Barre's

corporation counsel The corporation counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer who handles civil claims against the city in some U.S. municipal and county jurisdictions, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corp ...

, State's Attorney for Washington County, and a member of the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

. In 1925 Carver was appointed

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont attorney general is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Frank C. Archibald. Carver was elected to full terms in 1926 and 1928, and served from 1925 to 1931. In the 1930s Carver practiced law in partnership with Stanley C. Wilson,

F. Ray Keyser Sr. Frank Ray Keyser Sr. (September 29, 1898 – March 7, 2001) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge from Vermont. He was a lawyer in private practice and later a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. His son F. Ray Keyser Jr. served as S ...

, and

Deane C. Davis Deane Chandler Davis (November 7, 1900December 8, 1990) was an American attorney and insurance executive from Vermont. Long active in Republican politics, he is most notable for his service as the 74th governor of Vermont from 1969 to 1973. E ...

. Their firm was described as Vermont's "best ever collection of legal talent," in that it included one

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

Justice (Keyser), two

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

(Wilson and Davis), and one state Attorney General (Carver). From 1935 to 1936 Carver served as president of the

Vermont Bar Association The Vermont Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Vermont. History Founded in September 1878 in Montpelier, the Vermont Bar Association remains the only professional organization for lawyers, judges, paralegals ...

. Carver died in Barre on July 22, 1942, aged 61. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Barre.

Family

In 1911, Carver married Zoe H. Towers of

Richmond, Vermont Richmond is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,167. The main settlement of Richmond, in the north-central part of town, is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 853 at ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, J. Ward 1881 births 1942 deaths Politicians from Barre, Vermont Goddard College alumni Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Republican Party Vermont state senators Vermont attorneys general American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly