Benjamin F. Graves

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Benjamin F. Graves (ca.1890)

Benjamin Franklin Graves (* 17th October 1817 in Gates , † 3. March 1906 in Detroit ) was from 1863 to 1883 Richter (from 1868 Chief Justice) of the Supreme Court of Michigan , the Michigan Supreme Court . Under him, the jurisprudence of Michigan gained a high reputation among US lawyers. He and his fellow judges went down in Michigan's Jurassic history as The Big Four .

biography

Graves was born on October 17, 1817 in Gates, a small town west of Rochester , New York . Since his health was not in a position to support the hard agricultural work of his parents and later to take it over, he preferred an academic life and began studying law in the spring of 1837 , initially at the Curtis & Thomas law firm in Albion , New York, and then with Mortimer F. Delano , an attorney with extensive practice from which he benefited greatly. In 1841 he was admitted to the New York Bar Association . Among his friends and fellow students was Sanford Elias Church (1815-1880), who later became Chief Justice of the New York Court of Appeals .

In 1843 he decided to emigrate west. Uncomfortable in Kentucky, he moved to Battle Creek , Michigan, and began practicing as a land lawyer. However, there were hardly any cases to deal with, as Battle Creek was a small village in a sparsely populated area at the time. Later, Graves was elected civil judge and master in chancery at Battle Creek .

Graves was elected Judge of the Fifth Judicial District, Eaton County , in 1857 and was re-elected unanimously. The work was arduous and arduous, because each year there were sixteen terms in different counties of the district that he had to travel to. Graves succeeded Judge Abner Pratt (1801-1863) as a judge at the Michigan Supreme Court, the Michigan Supreme Court, which was formed at that time from the district judges. The court sessions were held in Detroit , Kalamazoo , Adrian , Pontiac, and Lansing . The district judges received an annual salary of about $ 1,500 plus travel expenses. In late 1857, Michigan's judicial system was restructured. Since then, four judges have been elected to the Supreme Court for eight years regardless of their position. Graves had to resign on March 31, 1866 for health reasons, but was again nominated and elected for a seat from January 1, 1868 the following year. He succeeded the Chief Justice George Martin (1815-1867), who died in 1867, and formed the Supreme Court with Thomas McIntyre Cooley (1824-1898), Isaac Peckham Christiancy (1812-1890) and James Valentine Campbell (1823-1890). In 1875 he was nominated by the Republicans and Democrats together and re-elected with no votes against. After initial difficulties between the four fellow judges, they achieved a high level in the judiciary of Michigan and a special reputation among lawyers in other US states. They went down in Michigan's Jurassic history as The Big Four .

It wasn't until June 1883 that Graves received his doctorate in law (LL.D.) from the University of Michigan . In the same year he rejected a further nomination to switch to retirement from January 1, 1884. He was followed by Judge John Wayne Champlin (1831-1901) into office. He justified Graves' resignation at the age of 66 with the fact that “his age could unnoticeably limit his ability to fulfill the duties of the position.” However, he lived for another 24 years without losing any of his intellectual sharpness. His tenure as Chief Justice is considered the most significant era for the Michigan Supreme Court. In 1894 Graves moved to Detroit and died there on March 3, 1906 in the house of his son Henry Ballard, with whom he was staying. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.

family

Benjamin Graves married Lydia L. Merritt on September 27, 1847. After her death on April 1, 1850, he married Ann Eliza Lapham (* 1822, † June 22, 1894) on July 24, 1851. With her he had two sons and one Daughter. Graves' son Arthur died in 1862. Henry Ballard (1861–1952) became a lawyer and practiced in Detroit. His daughter Betsy (1888–1964), Benjamin's granddaughter, was an excellent painter. Since Henry found it inappropriate for a woman to pursue painting, Betsy broke ties with the family and continued her career. Without the Detroit District Court knowing of her family, she was selected to paint a portrait of Graves. Graves' daughter Lydia married Herbert Bowen from Detroit.

Web links

literature

  • Hoyt Post: Benjamin Franklin Graves . In: Michigan Law Review . tape 5 , no. 6 April 1907, p. 409-418 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Hoyt Post: Benjamin Franklin Graves . In: Michigan Law Review . tape 5 , no. 6 April 1907, p. 409-418 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Herschel H. Hatch: In Memoriam Benjamin F. Graves. Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, accessed April 1, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e George I. Reed: Bench and Bar of Michigan. A History and Biography . Century, Chicago 1897.
  4. ↑ a b Alfred Butzbaugh: Benjamin Franklin Graves . In: Society Update (Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society) . Lansing 2016, p. 3–5 ( online [PDF]).
  5. ^ Judge Benjamin Franklin Graves. Find A Grave, accessed April 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Katherine H. Adams, ML Keene: After the Vote Was Won. The Later Achievements of Fifteen Suffragists . McFarland, Jefferson 2010, ISBN 978-0-7864-4938-5 , pp. 57-58 .
personal data
SURNAME Graves, Benjamin F.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Graves, Benjamin Franklin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH Gates , New York
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1906
Place of death Detroit , Michigan