John Andrew Peters (October 9, 1822 – April 2, 1904) was a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, and the uncle of John Andrew Peters. He was also Chief Justice of the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

Biography

Born the son of a lumber merchant in

Ellsworth, Maine Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2020 Census determined it had a population of 8,399. Named after United States Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth, it contains historic buildings and ...

, Peters attended

Gorham Academy Gorham Academy was a preparatory school for boys and girls in Gorham, Maine. Origins In 1802, Hon. Stephen Longfellow presented a petition in favor of an academy in Gorham to the Massachusetts State Legislature. Governor Caleb Strong approved ...

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

(grad. 1842), where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

(1843–44). He was admitted to the bar in 1844 and commenced practice in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

. He represented Bangor in the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

in 1862 and 1863, and then the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 1864. He was Attorney General of Maine 1864–1866.Obituary, ''Record of Graduates of Yale University'' (New Haven, 1903-04), p. 305. Following the war Peters was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Fortieth, Forty-first, and Forty-second U.S. Congresses (March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1873), but declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1872. He then served as justice of the

(1873–1883), becoming chief justice from 1883 until January 1, 1900, when he resigned. He was succeeded as Chief Justice by his nephew, Andrew Peters Wiswell. While serving in the U.S. Congress, Peters was Chairman of the Committee on the Congressional Library (the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

), and a member of the Judiciary Committee. Peters' first wife, Mary Ann Hathaway, was the daughter of his law partner, Joshua W. Hathaway, who became judge of the Bangor District Court in 1849. His second wife was Fannie E. Roberts, daughter of Bangor "lumber baron" Amos M. Roberts. His brother-in-law,

Charles W. Roberts Charles Wentworth Roberts (1828–1898) was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War, who was awarded the rank of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers, in 1866, to rank from March 13, 1865. He was born in Old Town, Ma ...

of Bangor, was a Civil War general and post-war Democratic Party candidate for Governor of Maine. Peters died in

, on April 2, 1904, and was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, John Andrew 1822 births 1904 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Politicians from Bangor, Maine People from Ellsworth, Maine Yale College alumni Chief Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine) Maine attorneys general Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Members of Skull and Bones