John Homer Howe (September 12, 1822 – April 3, 1873) was an American jurist who served as chief justice of the Territorial

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the ...

from April 6, 1869 to October 14, 1871. Born in Riga, New York, Howe first began to practice law in Ohio,Wyoming State Archives biography of John H. Howe, available at 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001. eventually moving to Kewanee,

Henry County, Illinois Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census, listed its population at 49,284. Its county seat is Cambridge. Henry County is included in the Davenport- Moline- Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolita ...

, where he became a prominent lawyer, and eventually held the office of Circuit Judge."General John H. Howe", ''

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'' (April 8, 1869), p. 2. In 1862, while continuing to serve as a judge, he entered the Union Army as a captain in the 124th Illinois Infantry Regiment. He was made lieutenant colonel soon after, and was an actual command of the regiment during its service. He won distinction during the Vicksburg campaign, and in 1865 was made a Brevet Brigadier General. After the war he resumed his legal practice, and was frequently talked of as a candidate for congress in the 5th District. On April 6, 1869, President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

appointed Howe chief justice of the Wyoming Territory. The entire Congressional Delegation for Illinois united in recommending him for this appointment. When the Territory of Wyoming extended the right to vote to women in 1870, Howe, as chief justice, interpreted this to mean that women could also serve on

juries A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Most trial juries are " petit juries", an ...

, and encouraged them to do so.Holly J. McCammon, ''The U.S. Women's Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation: A More Just Verdict'' (2012), p. 39. Howe's efforts resulted in the first "mixed" juries, containing both men and women, which Howe argued would have a "civilizing" effect on proceedings, and give women greater power to address legal wrongs against them. Howe's efforts were resisted by male lawyers, and ultimately his successor in office reversed this policy. Howe resigned on October 14, 1871, and was later appointed as secretary to a commission adjudicating a boundary dispute between the United States and Mexico. Howe died in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

, and was interred in

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, Henry County, Illinois. "Kewanee" is the Ho-Chunk, Winnebago word for greater prairie-chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 in the 2020 census, down from 12,916 in 2010. Geography ...

."Far West Point", ''Fort Scott Daily Monitor'' (May 4, 1873), p. 4.

References

1822 births 1873 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century Illinois state court judges Illinois lawyers Illinois state court judges Justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court Ohio lawyers People from Kewanee, Illinois People from Monroe County, New York People of Illinois in the American Civil War Union army generals {{Wyoming-state-judge-stub