Viewing Douglas A. Hedin, "Judge Benjamin F. Webber (1833-1906)."

Douglas A. Hedin, "Judge Benjamin F. Webber (1833-1906)."

Benjamin F. Webber served almost 24 years on the Ninth Judicial District Court, from 1883 through 1906. He was elected three times without opposition or party designation. He was listed on ballots in elections in 1888, 1894 and 1900 as a "non-partisan" candidate. In 1906 he announced his candidacy for judge in the Republican primary but withdrew because of worries about the health of his wife and their finances. He committed suicide on December 4, 1906.

This brief biography covers Webber's early years, the Republican judicial district convention in 1882 that endorsed him, his elections, two of his court calendars in 1885 and 1901, his death and memorials by the Ninth Judicial District bar and the Minnesota State Bar Association. Newspaper accounts of the trial of Michael Madigan, Brown County Attorney, are posted in the Appendix.

The more one learns about Judge Webber the more impressive he becomes.

This is one of a series of studies of state district court judges in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries posted on this website.

View Article