Joseph Newton Carter (March 12, 1843 – February 6, 1913) was an American attorney and politician from

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 ...

, United States. He spent most of his life in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

, where he was a partner in a successful law practice. Carter was elected to two terms in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

starting in 1878. He was elected to the

Supreme Court of Illinois The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the ...

in 1894, serving one nine-year term.

Biography

Joseph Newton Carter was born in

Hardin County, Kentucky Hardin County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. The county was formed in 1792. Hardin County is part of the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, as ...

on March 12, 1843. He attended public schools and assisted on the family farm. In 1857, his family moved with him to

Charleston, Illinois Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon, Illinois, Ma ...

, then to Douglas County the following year. Upon graduating from school, he taught at another school. He served a three-month stint with the 70th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1863, he was accepted at

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city and the county seat of Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,616 at the 2020 census, down from 19,446 in 2010. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois Sc ...

, graduating there years later. He then studied law at 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 ...

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, graduating in 1868. Carter returned to Illinois in July 1869, settling in Quincy. There, he was admitted to the bar and established a law practice with William H. Govert. In 1878, he was elected as a Republican to the

for the 37th district. He was re-elected in 1880 to another two-year term. In 1882, he ran on the Republican ticket for election to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

, but lost in a close election to Maurice Kelly. He was, however, elected to serve a special session that redistricted the state congressional and senatorial districts. Carter was the Republican candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their ...

under Joseph W. Fifer in 1892, but the Democratic ticket of

John Peter Altgeld John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Prog ...

and Joseph B. Gill was successful instead. In 1894, Carter was named a candidate for the

to fill the vacancy of Simeon P. Shope. He was the youngest member of the court upon his election. He served one term as chief justice in 1898–1899. Joseph Carter married Ellen Barrell on December 3, 1879. They had three children. Carter enjoyed traveling in his free time and visited most of the United States. He died in Quincy on February 6, 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Joseph N. 1843 births 1913 deaths Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois Illinois College alumni Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Hardin County, Kentucky People from Quincy, Illinois University of Michigan Law School alumni 19th-century Illinois state court judges 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly