Joseph Bryant Crockett (November 17, 1808 – January 15, 1884) was an American attorney who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 1867 to January 5, 1880.
Biography
Crockett was born in Lexington, Kentucky to Martha Ferguson and Robert Crockett.[1] In 1827, he entered the University of Tennessee at Nashville, but stayed less than one year due to the expense.[1] At the age of 19, he moved to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and read law in the offices of Charles S. Morehead.[1] In 1830, he formed a partnership of Henry & Crockett, and with the departure of his partner after two years he took over the practice.[1] In August 1833, Crockett was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives from Christian County.[2][1] In 1836, he formed a firm with a young attorney, James F. Buckner, in the partnership of Crockett & Buckner, where he was joined by his brother, John W. Crockett.[1] In 1840, Crockett moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he edited a newspaper, the Intelligencer, and continued to practice law.[1] In 1850, he ran under the Whig Party for the Missouri House of Representatives.[3]
In December 1868, Governor Henry Huntly Haight appointed Crockett as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left the resignation of Oscar L. Shafter.[11] In October 1869, Crockett ran against William T. Wallace and Lorenzo Sawyer and was elected for the remainder of Shafter's term.[12] In 1879, a constitutional convention was held, and a new constitution was adopted that called for elections for all seats of the Supreme Court. Crockett did not run in the September 1879 election.[13]
On January 15, 1884, Crockett died at his home in Fruitvale, California.[14]
^Collins, Lewis; Collins, Richard H. (1998). History of Kentucky. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 773. ISBN0806345640. Retrieved July 19, 2017. Members of Legislature, Christian County, Kentucky, 1833, Jos. B. Crockett.
^"Estate of Gwin Page, Deceased". Daily Alta California. Vol. 9, no. 213. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 20 November 1857. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
^"Suit by the Widow of Gwin Page". Sacramento Daily Union. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 July 1860. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
^"Judge Crockett". Daily Alta California. Vol. 36, no. 12330. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 17 January 1884. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
^"The Nomination of Downey's Successor". Daily Alta California. Vol. 16, no. 5335. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 October 1864. p. 1. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
^"Supreme Court". Daily Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 2 June 1864. p. 1. Retrieved July 19, 2017. In the matter of the application of Aaron Bar (of San Francisco) for a writ of habeas corpus, it was on Tuesday ordered, on motion of Crockett & Whiting and filing petition, that the writ issue, returnable June 6, 1864.
^"Wedding at the Synagogue Emanu-El". Daily Alta California. Vol. 21, no. 6943. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 22 March 1869. p. 1. Retrieved July 20, 2017. Mr. Joseph Naphtaly (of the law firm of Crockett, Whiting & Naphtaly) and Miss Sarah Schmitt (second daughter of B. L. Schmitt, the well known stock-broker)
^"Vote for Two Justices". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 1, no. 6. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 8 October 1873. Retrieved July 10, 2017. Judge O. L. Shafter elected in 1863, drew the long term for ten years which, of course, would expire in 1873; but he resigned in 1869, having four years of his term left. To this vacancy Judge Crockett was appointed by Governor Haight, and, subsequently, at the election in October, 1869, he was elected.
^"Pacific Coast News Summary". Sonoma Democrat. No. 11. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 18 December 1869. p. 8. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
