Joseph M. Terrell

Joseph Meriwether Terrell (June 6, 1861 – November 17, 1912) was a United States Senator and the 57th Governor of Georgia.

"Senator Terrell" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Terrell (disambiguation).

Joseph M. Terrell
United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
November 17, 1910 – July 14, 1911
Appointed byJoseph Mackey Brown
Preceded byAlexander S. Clay
Succeeded byM. Hoke Smith
57th Governor of Georgia
In office
October 25, 1902 – June 29, 1907
Preceded byAllen D. Candler
Succeeded byHoke Smith
37th Attorney General of Georgia
In office
1892–1902
GovernorWilliam J. Northen
William Yates Atkinson
Allen D. Candler
Preceded byW.A. Little
Succeeded byBoykin Wright
Member of the Georgia Senate
In office
1890–1892
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office
1884–1887
Personal details
Born(1861-06-06)June 6, 1861
Greenville, Georgia, C.S.
DiedNovember 17, 1912(1912-11-17) (aged 51)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Jessie Lee Spivey
​
(m. 1886)​
Signature

Background

Born in Greenville, he was the son of Sarah Rebecca (née Anthony) and Dr. Joel Edgar Green Terrell.[1] He attended the common schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1882, commencing practice in Greenville.

On October 19, 1886, he married Jessie Lee Spivey. They had no children.[1]

Terrell was a self-declared "uncompromising friend of common school education."[2]

Terrell was of English ancestry and of partial Norman descent.[3]

Career

Terrell was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1884 to 1887, and a member of the Georgia Senate in 1890. He served as state attorney general from 1892 to 1902, and Governor of Georgia from 1902 to 1907, marred by the Atlanta race riot of 1906.[4] He resumed the practice of law in Atlanta, and was appointed to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Alexander S. Clay, serving from November 17, 1910 to July 14, 1911, when he resigned. Terrell suffered a stroke in February 1911.[5]

Death and legacy

He again resumed the practice of law in Atlanta although in poor health and died there from Bright's Disease on November 17, 1912. He was survived by his wife.[2][5]

Interment was in the City Cemetery, Greenville.

The Liberty ship Joseph M. Terrell was named for him.[6] Terrell Hall, on the campus of Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, was also named for him.[7]

References
  1. Dicken, Emma. Terrell Genealogy. San Antonio, Texas: The Naylor Company. pp. 159–160. He was a member of the Georgia Legislature 1884- 1890; Attorney General of Georgia 1892-1902; governor of Georgia 1902-1907; a U. S. Senator in the 61st Congress.
  2. "Joseph M. Terrell (1861–1912)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  3. Terrell, Edwin Holland (1909). Further Genealogical Notes on the Tyrrell-Terrell Family of Virginia and Its English and Norman-French Progenitors. San Antonio, Texas. p. 40. ISBN 9781789875539. Retrieved June 12, 2020 – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "Georgia National Guard correspondence regarding the Atlanta Race Riot". Incoming Correspondence, Adjutant General, Defense, RG 22-1-17, Georgia Archives. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  5. "Joseph M. Terrell". The Sun. Atlanta. November 18, 1912. p. 9. Retrieved June 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Photograph of the Liberty ship Joseph M. Terrell at the docks of J.A. Jones Construction Company shipyard, Brunswick, Georgia, 1944". Vanishing Georgia. Digital Library of Georgia. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  7. "Terrell Hall (Milledgeville, Ga.)". Vanishing Georgia. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
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