Joseph Trotter Mills

Joseph Trotter Mills (December 18, 1812 – November 22, 1897) was an American attorney, jurist, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served four one-year terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was Wisconsin circuit court judge for the 5th circuit from 1865 through 1877.

The Honorable
Joseph T. Mills
Portrait from History of Grant County Wisconsin (1900)
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 5th Circuit
In office
January 2, 1865 – January 1, 1877
Preceded byMontgomery M. Cothren
Succeeded byMontgomery M. Cothren
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 6, 1879 – January 5, 1880
Preceded byThomas J. Graham
Succeeded byJohn A. Klindt
ConstituencyGrant 2nd district
In office
January 6, 1862 – January 5, 1863
Preceded byHanmer Robbins
Succeeded byJ. Allen Barber
ConstituencyGrant 3rd district
In office
January 7, 1856 – January 4, 1858
Preceded byWilliam W. Field
Succeeded byCharles K. Dean
ConstituencyGrant 4th district
District Attorney of Grant County, Wisconsin
In office
August 1861 – Summer 1864
Appointed byAlexander Randall
Preceded byAllen R. Bushnell
Succeeded byAllen R. Bushnell
In office
January 3, 1859 – January 7, 1861
Preceded byEdward D. Lowry
Succeeded byAllen R. Bushnell
Personal details
Born(1812-12-18)December 18, 1812
Cane Ridge, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 1897(1897-11-22) (aged 84)
Denver County, Colorado, U.S.
Resting placeHillside Cemetery, Lancaster, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Evalina Warner
    ​
    (died 1841)​
  • Rebecca Warner
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1842; died 1857)​
  • Mary Ann Coumbe
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1860; died 1893)​
Children
  • Mary Evelina Warner Mills
  • (b. 1844; died 1845)
  • Evalina (Anderson)
  • (b. 1846; died 1930)
  • Jared Warner Mills
  • (b. 1852; died 1907)
  • Benjamin Mills
  • (b. 1857; died 1858)
RelativesBenjamin Mills (uncle)

Biography

Born in 1812 in Cane Ridge, Kentucky,[1] near Paris, Joseph Trotter Mills as a youth lived and studied with his uncle Benjamin Mills, who was a judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Moving west, in 1831 Mills studied at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois.

He worked as a tutor in 1834 and 1835, teaching the children of Colonel Zachary Taylor,[1] then commanding officer of Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Michigan Territory. Later Mills married and had a family.

He prepared to change his work by reading the law with an established firm; in 1844, he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar. He practiced law in Lancaster, Wisconsin. From 1865 to 1877, Mills served as Wisconsin Circuit Court judge. In 1856, 1857, 1862, and 1879, Mills served in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican.[2] His son-in-law, James Sibree Anderson, was also a member of the Assembly.

Mills died at his son's home in Denver, Colorado.[1][3]

References
  1. "An Old Resident Gone: Judge Joseph Mills of Manitowoc Passes Away in Denver". The Daily Tribune. November 27, 1897. p. 6. Retrieved May 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. Wisconsin Blue Book 1879, "Biographical Sketch of Joseph T. Mills," p. 493
  3. Report of the Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin State Bar Association, Madison, Wisconsin, February 2–3, 1901, Tayor and Gleason Book and Job Printers, Madison, Wisconsin: 1901, "Biographical Sketch of Joseph Trotter Mills," pg. 326
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