Charles H. Berry Explained

Charles H. Berry
Office:Associate Justice of the Idaho Territorial Supreme Court
Term Start:July 19, 1888
Term End:October 1890
Predecessor:Case Broderick
Successor:position abolished
Appointer:Grover Cleveland
Office1:Member of the Minnesota Senate
Term Start1:January 6, 1874
Term End1:January 3, 1876
Order2:1st
Office2:Minnesota Attorney General
Term Start2:May 24, 1858
Term End2:January 1860
Governor2:Henry H. Sibley
Predecessor2:position established
Successor2:Gordon E. Cole
Birth Date:1823 9, mf=y
Birth Place:Westerly, Rhode Island, U.S.
Death Place:Winona, Minnesota, U.S.
Father:Samuel Foster Berry
Mother:Lucy Stanton
Children:1
Party:Democratic
Signature:Charles H. Berry signature.jpg

Charles Henry Berry (September 12, 1823 – August 21, 1900), widely known as C. H. Berry, was an American politician and jurist who served as the first Minnesota Attorney General after statehood and as one of the last justices of the Idaho Territorial Supreme Court.

Biography

Berry was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, the son of Samuel Foster and Lucy (née Stanton) Berry. He moved to Caton, New York, at the age of four, then to Maine, New York in 1838 to attend an academy. He attended Canandaigua Academy from 1843 to 1846, then studied law under Elbridge G. Lapham and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He then practiced law in Corning, New York, until 1855. He married Frances Eliza Hubbell in Corning in 1850, and they would have one daughter.[1]

He moved to Winona, Minnesota Territory, in 1855. In 1857, he was elected as a Democrat as Minnesota's first state attorney general, and served from May 24, 1858, to January 1860. He also served in the Minnesota Senate from 1874 to 1876.[1] [2] He was instrumental in the establishment of Winona State Normal School, and served as its resident director from 1885 to 1887.[1] [3]

On July 9, 1888, President Grover Cleveland nominated Berry to be Associate Justice of the Idaho Territorial Supreme Court, and he was confirmed by the senate ten days later.[4] Following Idaho's statehood, per the Idaho Constitution, he remained in office until the state's supreme court justices were elected in October 1890.

He died in Winona on August 21, 1900.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Portrait and Biographical Record of Winona County, Minnesota. Lake City Publishing Co.. 1895.
  2. Web site: Legislators Past & Present: Berry, Charles H. 'C.H.'. Minnesota Legislature.
  3. Book: Ruggles, C. O.. Historical Sketch and Notes, Winona State Normal School, 1860-1910. 1910.
  4. Book: Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America: From December 5, 1887, to March 3, 1889, Inclusive. United States Senate. Government Printing Office. 1901.
  5. News: Charles H. Berry is dead. Star Tribune. August 22, 1900.