Josiah Given (August 31, 1828 – February 3, 1908) was a justice of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

from March 12, 1889 to December 31, 1901, appointed from Polk County, Iowa. He also served as colonel of the 74th Ohio Infantry Regiment during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, receiving a brevet to brigadier general.

Biography

Given was born in

Murrysville, Pennsylvania Murrysville, known formally by its legal name in its Charter as The Municipality of Murrysville, is designated as a home rule status community in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 20,079 at the 2010 census. I ...

on August 31, 1828 of John and Jane Clendenning Given, who had immigrated from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1838 his family moved to

Holmes County, Ohio Holmes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,223. Its county seat is Millersburg. The county was formed in 1824 from portions of Coshocton, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties and organize ...

. In 1847 he enlisted in an Ohio regiment and served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. At the end of the war he returned to Ohio to study law in the office of his older brother William, and was admitted to the bar in Stark County, Ohio in 1850. He married Elizabeth Armor in

Millersburg, Ohio Millersburg is a village and the county seat of Holmes County, Ohio, United States located south of Cleveland. The population was 3,025 at the 2010 census. Holmes County Airport, located two miles southwest of Millersburg, serves the county. ...

on October 6, 1851. Starting in 1856 he had a law practice in

Coshocton, Ohio Coshocton is a city in and the county seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States approximately 63 mi (102 km) ENE of Columbus. The population was 11,216 at the 2010 census. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet in ...

. When the

started in 1861 he immediately re-enlisted, and during the war served with the 24th Ohio Infantry as a Captain, the

18th Ohio Infantry The 18th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Three-months regiment Companies A, C, and E enrolled at Ironton, Ohio, on April 22, 1861. Company B enrolled at Marietta, Ohio, o ...

as a Lieutenant Colonel and the 74th Ohio Infantry as a colonel. He participated in 22 battles over the course of the war. After the war, he served as

Postmaster of the United States House of Representatives The postmaster of the United States House of Representatives was an employee of the United States Congress from 1834 to 1992. Before the creation of the office of postmaster, mail duties were handled by workers in the office of the doorkeeper, w ...

during the

39th Congress The 39th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 ...

, sponsored by

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

, who was then a representative from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He moved to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

after that to practice law. He served as District Attorney in Polk County and various judicial positions including circuit judge, district judge, and justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. He died in Des Moines on February 3, 1908 and was buried in

Woodland Cemetery Woodland Cemetery may refer to: * Woodland cemetery, a type of cemetery or it may refer to specific places: in Sweden * Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) in Stockholm, Sweden in the United States (by state) * Woodland Cemetery (Quincy, I ...

References

Burials at Woodland Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa) Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court Union Army colonels People of Ohio in the American Civil War 1828 births 1908 deaths People from Murrysville, Pennsylvania People from Holmes County, Ohio People from Des Moines, Iowa 19th-century American judges Military personnel from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Iowa {{Iowa-state-judge-stub