Ralph Justin Anderson (October 17, 1888 – August 8, 1962)
was a justice of the
Montana Supreme Court
The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court wh ...
from 1933 to 1938.
Born in
Kinderhook, Illinois
Kinderhook is a village in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 216 at the 2010 census, a decline from 249 in 2000.
Geography
Kinderhook is located at (39.702669, -91.152006).
According to the 2010 census, Kinderhook has a t ...
, Anderson received his law degree from the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
in 1912, and later that year moved to
Lewistown, Montana
Lewistown is a city in and the county seat of Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,952 at the 2020 census. Lewistown is located in the geographic center of the state, southeast of Great Falls and northwest of Billings. Fir ...
. Anderson was elected to the
Montana House of Representatives
The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years.
Composition of the House
:''67th Legislature – 2021†...
for
Fergus County, Montana
Fergus County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,446. Its county seat is Lewistown. The county was founded in 1885 and named for James Fergus, a Montana politician who was instrumental in cr ...
, in 1914, and in 1917 was appointed deputy County Attorney for Fergus County.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was called to duty in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
on June 30, 1918, and was sent to
Vancouver Barracks
Established in 1849, the Vancouver Barracks was the first U.S. Army base located in the Pacific Northwest. Built on a rise 20 feet (6 m) above the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading station Fort Vancouver. Its buildings were formed in a line adjac ...
, Washington.
[Form No. 724-1½, A.G.O. for Anderson, Ralph J, Army serial number 3,415,887, available in the "Montana, U.S., Military Records, 1904-1918" collection on ]Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites.
In November 2018, ...
. He was in the 25th Company
Casual
Casual or Casuals may refer to:
* Casual wear, a loosely defined dress code
**Business casual a loosely defined dress code
**Smart casual a loosely defined dress code
* Casual Company, term used by the United States military to describe a type of ...
Detachment Signal C for about 5 weeks, the 15th Company Casual Detachment
Spruce Production Division
The Spruce Production Division was a unit of the United States Army established in 1917 to produce high-quality Sitka spruce timber and other wood products needed to make aircraft for the United States' efforts in World War I. The division was p ...
for 1 month, and the 144th
Spruce Squadron in Joyce, Washington until his discharge as a private in January 1919.
[ During this time, he served in the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps."Ralph J. Anderson, Former High Court Judge, Dies"]
''The Independent Record'', Helena, Montana, volume XIX, number 259, page 1. (obituary)
He was elected to the
Montana Supreme Court
The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court wh ...
in November 1932 and served until the end of 1938. He is credited with being the only attorney in the state to have argued four cases in one day before the Montana Supreme Court. He became a member of the State Board of Law Examiners in 1943 and was chair of that body from 1951 to 1962.
[
On February 24, 1919, he married Lauretta Kelly, they had no children. Anderson died August 8, 1962, in Helena, Montana, at the age of 73 and is buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Helena.][
]
References
1888 births
1962 deaths
People from Pike County, Illinois
University of Colorado alumni
Members of the Montana House of Representatives
Justices of the Montana Supreme Court
Military personnel from Illinois
United States Army Air Forces soldiers
{{Montana-state-judge-stub