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Mortimer M. Jackson

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The Honorable
Mortimer M. Jackson
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
September 1848 – June 1, 1853
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 5th Circuit
In office
September 1848 – June 1, 1853
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byMontgomery M. Cothren
3rd and 5th Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory
In office
1845 – January 22, 1846
GovernorHenry Dodge
Preceded byWilliam Pitt Lynde
Succeeded byA. Hyatt Smith
In office
June 26, 1842 – 1844
GovernorJames Duane Doty
Preceded byHoratio Wells
Succeeded byWilliam Pitt Lynde
Personal details
Born
Mortimer Melville Jackson

(1809-03-05)March 5, 1809
Rensselaerville, New York
DiedOctober 13, 1889(1889-10-13) (aged 80)
Madison, Wisconsin
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery
Madison, Wisconsin
Political party
Spouses
  • Catharine Garr
  • (m. 1838; died 1875)
OccupationLawyer, judge
Signature

Mortimer Melville Jackson (March 5, 1809 – October 13, 1889) was an American lawyer, judge, and diplomat. He was a justice of the original Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1848 through 1853 and was later a United States consul general in Canada for twenty years. Prior to Wisconsin statehood, he was Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory.

Biography

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Jackson was born in Rensselaerville, New York.[1] He received his education in New York City, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1838, Jackson moved to Milwaukee,[1] and then in 1839, to Mineral Point, Wisconsin Territory,[1] where he practiced law, involving the lead-mining industry.[2]

In 1842, Wisconsin Territorial Governor James Duane Doty appointed Jackson Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory, where he served until 1846.[1] When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, Jackson was elected one of the first five Wisconsin Circuit Court judges. At the time, the Wisconsin Supreme Court was constituted of the five circuit court judges; thus, Jackson was also a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court until a separate Supreme Court was formed in 1853.[1]

Politically, Judge Jackson was involved with the Whig Party from as early as 1834, and joined the Republican Party when it was formed in the 1850s.[1] In 1857 he was a candidate for the United States Senate, but was defeated by James Rood Doolittle. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Jackson United States consul general in Halifax, Canada.[2] As consul general, he was instrumental in the seizure of about $3,000,000 worth of Confederate property during the American Civil War (about $49,000,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars).[1] He would remain in this role for 21 years until his retirement in 1882. He then returned to Madison, Wisconsin, where he died seven years later at the Park Hotel.[3][1]

Legacy

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Jackson's will donated $20,000 to the Law School at the University of Wisconsin to create the Mortimer M. Jackson Professorship of Law.[4][5][6][2]

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Attorney General (1857)

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Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1857[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1857
Democratic Gabriel Bouck 44,764 50.23% −1.00%
Republican Mortimer M. Jackson 44,362 49.77%
Plurality 402 0.45% -1.99%
Total votes 89,126 100.0% +22.35%
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "A Pioneer Jurist Gone". The Representative. October 18, 1889. p. 2. Retrieved April 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b c Berryman, John R., ed. (1898). History of the Bench and Bar of Wisconsin. Vol. 1. Chicago: H. C. Cooper, Jr. pp. 98–101. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "Wisconsin Court System - Mortimer M. Jackson". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  4. ^ "Generous Jackson". The Oshkosh Northwestern. October 16, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved April 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Mortimer M. Jackson (1809-1889)". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin. Madison: Democrat Printing Company. 1907. p. 763.
  7. ^ "Official Footings". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. December 5, 1857. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin
1857
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory
1842 – 1844
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of the Wisconsin Territory
1845 – 1846
Succeeded by
New court Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 5th Circuit
1848 – 1853
Succeeded by
New court Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
1848 – 1853
Court abolished