Charles Austin Tweed

Charles Austin Tweed
Charles Austin Tweed
Associate Justice, Arizona Territorial Supreme Court
	In office; August 12, 1870 – May 1878
Nominated by	20th district
	In office; 1867–1870
Preceded by	James E. Hale
Succeeded by	Jacob H. Neff
Personal details
Born	December 24, 1813; San Francisco, California
Political party	Whig/Republican
Spouses	; Ruth Green (m. 1836; died 1871) ; Minnie A. Jackson (m. 1875; died 1877) ; Marcia C. Lewis (m. 1878)
Profession	Attorney

Charles Austin Tweed (December 24, 1813 – July 22, 1887) was an American politician and jurist. During his early career he was elected to the Florida Senate and California State Senate. Tweed then moved to Arizona Territory and was appointed to serve two terms as an associate justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court.

Background

Tweed was born in

shoemaker and influential member of the community. He received a liberal education that included a study of the law.^[1]

Shortly after he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar, he moved to Florida in the hope it would help his first wife's health.^[1] There in 1848, as a member of the Whig Party, he was elected to a single term in the Florida Senate.^[2]

California

In late 1849 Tweed joined the

Charlestown, Massachusetts but returned to Nevada City in 1862.^[3]

Running as a

special committee established to investigate the possibility. Although the committee reported favorably, the proposal was defeated by a vote of 23–47.^[7]

Arizona Territory

On April 14, 1870, following Judge

Arizona Territorial Supreme Court. The new justice moved to Prescott and took his oath of office on August 12, 1870. He presided over his first district court session on October 3, 1870. Press reports of the new justice's performance were favorable with one newspaper reporting, "Judge Tweed has gained the confidence of the people ... by giving the law a literal construction and showing a disposition to get at the rights of matters, irrespective of technicalities."^[3]^[8] On October 2, 1871, Tweed's first wife, Ruth G., died.^[9]

The

dairy farm. In addition to his judicial duties, Tweed became active in early efforts to use the Salt River for irrigation.^[3] On March 31, 1875, Tweed married Minnie A. Jackson. The marriage ended with her death on March 14, 1877. Judge Tweed's third marriage came on March 20, 1878 when he wed Marcia C. Lewis of San Francisco.^[9]

In Phoenix, Judge Tweed remained as popular as he had been in Prescott. As a result, he was appointed to a second term in March 1874.

Anson P.K. Safford, John Philo Hoyt, Chief Justice C. G. W. French, and Edmund W. Wells were among Tweed's defenders and the charges were dismissed in 1876. The claims may however have influenced President Rutherford B. Hayes to not appoint Tweed to a third term in 1878.^[9]

After leaving the bench, Tweed moved to

William A. Hancock.^[10]

Tweed had been in declining health for years. In early 1887, he traveled to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. The treatment was unable to reverse his problems and Tweed died on July 22, 1887.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b Goff 1975, p. 60.
^ "Senators 1845 – 2001". Florida Electronic Federal Depository Library. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Goff 1975, p. 61.
^ Davis 1893, p. 278.
^ Davis 1893, p. 659.
^ Hittell 1897, p. 435.
^ Hittell 1897, pp. 435–6.
^ "Secretary of the Territory, 1863-1922". Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Goff 1975, p. 62.
^ ^a ^b Goff 1975, p. 63.