Joseph Howard (March 14, 1800 – December 12, 1877) was an American lawyer and politician from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Howard served as Justice of the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

from October 23, 1848 to October 22, 1855. Born in

Brownfield, Maine Brownfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,631 at the 2020 census. Brownfield is home to the Stone Mountain Arts Center. History The area was once territory of the Pequawket Abenaki Indians, whose main ...

, Howard graduated from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

in 1821 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

to gain admission to the bar in 1824. He was a

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

from 1837 to 1841. On October 23, 1848, Governor John W. Dana appointed Howard to a seat as an associate justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated by the elevation of

Ether Shepley Ether Shepley (November 2, 1789January 15, 1877) was an Politics of the United States, American politician. Shepley, a United States Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-Republican, served in the Maine House of Representatives, Maine State H ...

to the position of chief justice. Howard served until his retirement on October 22, 1855. In 1860, he was elected

Mayor of Portland, Maine The Mayor of Portland is the official head of the city of Portland, Maine, United States, as stipulated in the Charter of the City of Portland. This article is a listing of past (and present) Mayors of Portland. History of the office Before 19 ...

, and, in

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

, he ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of Maine, which he lost to

Samuel Cony Samuel Cony (February 27, 1811 – October 5, 1870) was an American politician, who most notably served as the 31st Governor of Maine from 1864 to 1867. Early years Cony was born in Augusta (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts ...

by 63.3% to 37.7%.Richard F. Miller, ''States at War, Volume 1: A Reference Guide for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont in the Civil War'' (2013), p. 213. He died in Brownfield.Maine Genealogy Archives
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justices, 1820-1920

References

1800 births 1877 deaths People from Brownfield, Maine Bowdoin College alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States Attorneys for the District of Maine Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Lawyers from Portland, Maine Mayors of Portland, Maine Maine Democrats 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers {{Maine-state-judge-stub