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Joseph V. Quarles

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The Honorable
Joseph V. Quarles
United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
In office
March 6, 1905 – October 7, 1911
Appointed byTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byWilliam Henry Seaman
Succeeded byFerdinand August Geiger
United States Senator
from Wisconsin
In office
March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1905
Preceded byJohn L. Mitchell
Succeeded byRobert M. La Follette
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 8th district
In office
January 5, 1880 – January 2, 1882
Preceded byBenoni Reynolds
Succeeded byCharles Palmetier
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Kenosha County district
In office
January 6, 1879 – January 5, 1880
Preceded byWalter L. Dexter
Succeeded byCornelius Williams
20th Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
In office
April 1876 – April 1877
Preceded byOtis G. King
Succeeded byAsahel Farr
Personal details
Born
Joseph Very Quarles Jr.

(1843-12-16)December 16, 1843
Southport, Wisconsin Territory
DiedOctober 7, 1911(1911-10-07) (aged 67)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeGreen Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Caroline Adelaide Saunders
​
​
(m. 1868⁠–⁠1911)​
Children
  • William Charles Quarles
  • (b. 1870; died 1939)
  • Joseph Very Quarles
  • (b. 1874; died 1946)
  • Edward Louis Quarles
  • (b. 1876; died 1941)
Parents
  • Joseph V. Quarles (father)
  • Caroline (Bullen) Quarles (mother)
Relatives
EducationUniversity of Michigan (A.B., LL.B.)
Professionlawyer, judge
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1864–1865
Rank1st Lieutenant, USV
Unit39th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Joseph Very Quarles Jr. (December 16, 1843 – October 7, 1911) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as a United States senator from Wisconsin from 1899 to 1905; he was subsequently appointed United States district judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and served from 1905 until his death in 1911. During his career as an attorney, he was one of the founders of the firm Quarles & Brady, which still exists.

Earlier in his career, he was the 20th mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin, represented Kenosha County in the Wisconsin Legislature, and served as an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a nephew of John Bullen Jr. and William Bullen, who established the first settlement at Kenosha.

Early life and education

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Joseph V. Quarles was born December 16, 1843, in what is now Kenosha, Wisconsin. At the time, it was the village of Southport, in the Wisconsin Territory.[1] He was raised and educated in Kenosha, and then went on to attend the University of Michigan.

He interrupted his education in 1864 to enlist for service in the Union Army, answering the call for 100-day enlistments. He was enrolled in the 39th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, as first lieutenant of Company C.[2][3] The 39th Wisconsin Infantry mustered into federal service in June 1864 and traveled to Tennessee. Quarles was detailed as an ordinance inspector for much of the 100 day service.[4]

After the expiration of his 100 day enlistment, Quarles returned to the University of Michigan where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1866. He continued his education at the University of Michigan Law School and earned his LL.B. in 1867.[1]

Career

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Quarles then returned to Kenosha. He was admitted to the bar and conducted a law practice there from 1868 to 1882.[1] He was the district attorney for Kenosha County from 1870 to 1876.[1] He was the mayor of Kenosha in 1876.[1] He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1879.[1] He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1880 to 1882.[1] He resumed private practice in Racine, Wisconsin from 1882 to 1888, and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1888 to 1899.[1]

Congressional service

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Quarles was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1899, to March 3, 1905.[2] He was not a candidate for reelection in 1905.[2] He was Chairman of the Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard for the 56th United States Congress and Chairman of the Committee on the Census for the 57th and 58th United States Congresses.[2]

Federal judicial service

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Quarles was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt on March 6, 1905, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin vacated by Judge William Henry Seaman.[1]

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 6, 1905, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on October 7, 1911,[1] due to his death.[2]

Personal life

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Joseph V. Quarles Jr. was the elder of two sons born to Joseph V. Quarles Sr. and his wife Caroline Bullen. Caroline Bullen was a younger sister of John Bullen Jr. and William Bullen, who established the first settlement at Kenosha, Wisconsin.[5]: 14–15  Their father, John Bullen IV—commonly known as John Bullen Sr.—had been a captain in the New York militia during the War of 1812 and subsequently served as a brigadier general in the Wisconsin Territory militia.

Joseph Quarles Jr. had one younger brother, Charles, who became his law partner.[6]

On September 25, 1868, Joseph Quarles Jr. married Caroline Adelaide Saunders at Douglas County, Kansas. They had three sons together, all of whom survived them.

Quarles died at his home Milwaukee on October 7, 1911, after an illness of several months.[2] He was interred in the City Cemetery in Kenosha (now known as Green Ridge Cemetery).[2][7]

Electoral history

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U.S. Senate (1899)

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United States Senate Election in Wisconsin, 1899[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
6th Vote of the 44th Wisconsin Legislature, January 31, 1899
Republican Joseph V. Quarles 110 85.94%
Democratic Timothy E. Ryan 18 14.06%
Absent or not voting 5
Majority 65 50.78%
Total votes 128 96.24%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Joseph Very Quarles at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Joseph Very Quarles". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  3. ^ "Thirty-Ninth Regiment Infantry". Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 (Report). Vol. 2. Office of the Adjutant General of Wisconsin. 1886. p. 660. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  4. ^ "Correspondence of the Kenosha Telegraph". Kenosha Telegraph-Courier. July 28, 1864. p. 3. Retrieved March 28, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Philipps Train, May (1941). Samuel Bullen and Some of His Descendants. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Bruce, William George; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour) (April 3, 2019). "History of Milwaukee, city and county". Chicago : S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "History". Green Ridge Cemetery. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  8. ^ State of Wisconsin Assembly Journal (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1899. pp. 69, 84–86, 90–91, 95–96, 99–100, 102–103, 108–110. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via HathiTrust.
[edit]
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Kenosha district
January 6, 1879 – January 5, 1880 		Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 8th district
January 5, 1880 – January 2, 1882 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from Wisconsin
1899 – 1905
Served alongside: John Coit Spooner 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Otis G. King
 Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin
1876 – 1877 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
1905 – 1911 		Succeeded by
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