James Madison Morton Sr. (September 5, 1837 – April 19, 1923) was a justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...

from 1890 to 1913. He was appointed by Governor

John Q. A. Brackett John Quincy Adams Brackett (June 8, 1842 – April 6, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. A Republican Party (United States), Republican and temperance advocate, he served one term as the 36th governor of Massachus ...

Biography

Born in

Fairhaven, Massachusetts Fairhaven (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzz ...

, Morton received an undergraduate degree from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1859, where he was classmates with

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...

and

William Williams Keen William Williams Keen Jr. (January 19, 1837June 7, 1932) was an American physician and the first brain surgeon in the United States. During his lifetime, Keen worked with six American presidents. Early life and education Keen was born in Phila ...

, followed by an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1861."Judge Morton Dies After Brief Illness", ''Fall River Daily Evening News'' (April 20, 1923), p. 1, 8. He entered private practice in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and was city solicitor of that city from 1864 to 1867. He remained in practice until 1890, when Governor

appointed Morton to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Morton served for 23 years, submitting his resignation in 1913.

Personal life and death

On November 6, 1866, Morton married Emily Frances Canedy, with whom he had three children. Morton's son, James Madison Morton Jr., became a long-serving United States federal judge. Morton died at his home in Boston at the age of 86.

References

1837 births 1923 deaths People from Fairhaven, Massachusetts Brown University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub