John Marshall (Kansas judge)

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John Marshall
John Marshall (1858 – 1931).png
Justice John Marshall (Circa 1916)
Kansas Supreme Court
In office
November 1, 1915 (1915-11-01) – March 25, 1931 (1931-03-25)
Personal details
Born(1858-04-11)April 11, 1858
Logansport, Indiana
DiedMarch 25, 1931(1931-03-25) (aged 72)
Topeka, Kansas
Cause of deathProlonged illness
Spouse(s)
Miss Addie Jenks
​
(m. 1882)​
Children3
Parents
  • Humphrey Marshall (father)
  • Margaret Marshall (nee Rice) (mother)
Alma materKansas State University
OccupationJustice

John Marshall (April 11, 1858 – March 25, 1931) was a Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court from January 11, 1915 to March 25, 1931.[1]

Life and education[]

He was born April 11, 1858 in Logansport, Indiana, the son of Humphrey Marshall and Margaret Marshall (nee Rice).[2][3] The family then moved to Kansas in 1870, the state John would spend the rest of his life in.[4] He started his education in the Independence school district, while living in Grenola the place where his mother died while he was young and her grave is located.[5] His father then moved back to Indiana but John stayed and lived with neighbors.[5] He acquired much of his education being self-taught, before going on to spend two years at Kansas State University where he graduated with high honors even though he suffered a severe measles attack during his education.[4][6][5] He qualified as a teacher holding a first grade teacher's certificate.[4]

After University he returned to Elk county and married Miss Addie Jenks of Mound Branch in 1882.[5][3]

He served as a member of the school board of Howard, Kansas for several years.[7] He was profoundly religious and it was said that he feared God and no one else.[8] Starting December 1915 he gave a series of addresses to the Second Presbyterian Church, in North Topeka, starting with "Am I a Jonah?"[9]

Career[]

In 1882 he was admitted to the bar in Elk County, with his first official position as mayor of Howard the city where he lived.[7] He was then the Howard city attorney for several years, and then the Elk County Attorney from 1895 until 1899.[7] He later went on to become the Winfield city attorney and later an attorney for the Kansas State Temperance Union.[7] He also worked as the state assistant attorney general under Fred S. Jackson, and as attorney for the railroad commission and public utilities commission from 1911 to 1913.[7][10] He was a Republican throughout his career.[4]

He was known for being an outstanding figure in the enforcement of the Kansas prohibition laws.[2] Three decades before his death he had been a attorney for the Anti-Saloon League and the creator of the "padlock plan" for controlling blind pigs.[11] He also represented the Temperance Society of the Methodist Church in Colorado, and was part of the development of prohibition in Kansas.[12]

In January 1914 he announced that he would run for the Kansas Supreme Court with a desire to move from being John Marshall of Elk county to John Marshall of Kansas, he was living in Topeka at the time.[10] Although popular with many in September 1914 Mrs Myra McHenry made it "Her Hobby Now" to go after Marshall's "political scalp" not believing he was fit for the position.[13] Mrs McHenry had known him for thirty years and circulated pamphlets criticizing him.[13] She claimed that while he was the prosecuting attorney for Cowley County, Kansas prisoners lounged in a carpeted lobby in the jail.[13] She also claimed she was held under guard at her home charged with insanity, then escaped and on securing legal help the charges were dropped.[13]

He was elected to the court along with John Shaw Dawson to replace Alfred Washburn Benson and Clark Allen Smith, with Henry Freeman Mason retaining his seat.[14][15]

He also lectured at the Washburn Law School from around 1915 teaching Real Property.[7]

Marshall died while serving his 17th year on the supreme court and Edward Ray Sloan was appointed to complete his unexpired term by Governor Harry Hines Woodring.[16]

Death[]

He died March 25, 1931 at his home in Topeka, Kansas aged 72, he had been suffering a prolonged illness.[2] He had had a severe cold that has prevented him from his service to the court for several weeks, returning for the January inaugural ceremonies.[2] Later that month he was again confined to his home with heart issues.[2] On the night of his death after sitting in a chair for an hour he complained of feeling tired and returned to bed, dying not long after.[2] He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ "KS Courts - Historical Listing of Supreme Court Justices". www.kscourts.org. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary for JOHN MARSHALL Marshall (Aged 72)". The Manhattan Mercury. March 26, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  3. ^ a b "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Marshall". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "John Marshall for county attorney". The Moline Republican. October 30, 1896. p. 8. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  5. ^ a b c d "John Marshall - A boy without a home". The Grenola Gazette. May 8, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  6. ^ "Franks Marshall and John Marshall dead (not related)". The Iola Register. March 27, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Justice John Marshall". The Washburn Review. February 16, 1916. p. 2. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  8. ^ Reports of cases argued and determined in the Supreme court of the state of Kansas. 1931. pp. iii–vii. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "Judge John Marshall to Lecture at Presbyterian Church". The Topeka State Journal. December 4, 1915. p. 3. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  10. ^ a b "John Marshall for Justice". The Longton Gleaner. January 2, 1914. p. 4. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  11. ^ "Justice Marshal Dead". Council Grove Republican. March 26, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  12. ^ "John Marshall, Supreme Court Justice - temperance and prohibition". The Harris Commercial. December 10, 1914. p. 4. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d "John Marshall a subject for Myra M'Henry". The Arkansas City Daily News. September 15, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  14. ^ "Kansas Supreme Court election winners". The Jeffersonian Gazette. November 25, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  15. ^ "Kansas Supreme Court election results Nov 1914". The Erie Record. November 27, 1914. p. 7. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access
  16. ^ "Associate Justice Sloan of Kansas Supreme Court will Retire". The Emporia Gazette. May 21, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved October 4, 2020.open access

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
Clark Allen Smith
Alfred Washburn Benson
 Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court
1915-1931 		Succeeded by
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