Joseph Marcellus McWhorter (April 30, 1828 – August 18, 1913) was a West Virginia lawyer, politician, educator, and judge.

Biography

Born near Jane Lew, Virginia, the eldest son in a farming family, McWhorter supplemented his public school education with extensive reading, becoming at times a school teacher himself. In 1856 he was appointed county clerk of newly organized Roane County and was later elected to that post twice. He was elected to the first West Virginian legislature. After serving as superintendent of the state penitentiary, he was elected State Auditor in 1864 and 1866. He was elected secretary of the newly organized West Virginia Insurance Company in 1869, but resigned when he was appointed judge of the Seventh judicial circuit in 1870. McWhorter moved to Lewisburg and made that his residence for the rest of his life. After his term as judge expired at the end of 1872, he was appointed superintendent of schools for

Greenbrier County Greenbrier County () is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia. History P ...

. He was elected mayor of Lewisburg in 1887. In 1892 he ran unsuccessfully for judge of the

West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 t ...

. He was elected to an eight-year term on the circuit court in 1896, the same year his brother Henry C. McWhorter was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals. McWhorter was married twice. His first wife was Julia Stalnaker (died August 26, 1869) and they had ten children. He married Julia Kinsley (1837-June 1913) in 1870 and they had four children. His son Louis E. McWhorter also became a lawyer and served in the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

in 1905, representing

Kanawha County Kanawha County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charlest ...

. He died in Lewisburg on August 18, 1913.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McWhorter, Joseph Marcellus 1828 births 1913 deaths County clerks in Virginia Educators from West Virginia Mayors of places in West Virginia People from Lewisburg, West Virginia Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Lewis County, West Virginia People from Roane County, West Virginia West Virginia circuit court judges West Virginia lawyers 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers