Josiah Given (1889 - 1901)
Served on the Iowa
Supreme Court from March 12, 1889, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the retirement of Joseph R. Reed, until December 31, 1901. For
three years he was Chief Justice.
Born at Murrysville,
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1828. In 1838 the family moved to
Holmes County, Ohio. He served with an Ohio regiment throughout the war with
Mexico, After studying law in the office of his brother he was admitted to the
bar in 1850. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered as a captain, and was
engaged in twenty-two battles. At the close of the war he was retired as a
brigadier general. For a short time he served as United States Commissioner of
Internal Revenue. In 1868 he came to Des Moines and in 1880 was elected Judge
of the Circuit Court and in 1887 a Judge of the District Court.
Justice Given died in Des
Moines February 3, 1908.
