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

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, 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. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime ...

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 United States census, 2020 Census determined it had a population of 8,399. Named after Founding Fathers of the United States, United States Foundi ...

, 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 society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

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

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. He represented Bangor in the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

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 ...

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 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 a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

), 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 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 Politicians 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 Maine state court judges Members of Skull and Bones 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature