E. Ray Stevens
{{Short description|American judge}}
{{For|others of a similar name|Ray Stevens (disambiguation)}}
{{infobox officeholder
|name = E. Ray Stevens
| image = E. Ray Stevens circa 1929 (A24WTOUWVWE) 3x4.jpg
| caption = portrait of Stevens as a Supreme Court justice
|office = Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
| term_start = January 1, 1926
| term_end = August 25, 1930
| predecessor = Burr W. Jones
| successor = George B. Nelson
|office1 = Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge {{nobreak|for the 9th circuit}}
| appointer1 = Robert M. La Follette
| term_start1 = April 9, 1903
| term_end1 = December 31, 1925
| predecessor1 = Robert G. Siebecker
| successor1 = Herman W. Sachtjen
|state_assembly2 = Wisconsin
|district2 = Dane 1st
| term_start2 = January 7, 1901
| term_end2 = January 5, 1903
| predecessor2 = George E. Bryant
| successor2 = Matthew S. Dudgeon
|party = Republican
|birth_date = {{birth date|1869|6|20}}
|birth_place = Lake County, Illinois, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1930|8|25|1869|6|20}}
|death_place = Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
|restingplace = Forest Hill Cemetery, {{nobreak|Madison, Wisconsin}}
|spouse = {{marriage|Kate S. Sabin|1898|1930}}
|children = {{unbulleted list
| Ellen Stevens
| {{sup|(b. 1900; died 1911)}}
| Myron R. Stevens
| {{sup|(b. 1902; died 1994)}}
| Henry S. Stevens
}}
|education = University of Wisconsin Law School
|profession = Lawyer
}}
Edmund Ray Stevens (June 20, 1869 – August 25, 1930) was an American lawyer and judge. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1926 until his death in 1930. He previously served 23 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge and was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the city of Madison in the 1901 session.{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/stevens3.html|title=Stevens, E to F|publisher=Political Graveyard|accessdate=2011-11-02}}
Biography
Stevens was born Edmund Ray Stevens on June 20, 1869, in Lake County, Illinois.{{cite web|url=http://www.wicourts.gov/courts/supreme/justices/retired/stevens.htm|title=E. Ray Stevens|publisher=Wisconsin Court System|accessdate=2011-11-02}} His family later moved to Janesville, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1895. As a young man, he was a prolific writer on the problems of government and pushing for progressive solutions. He also worked as a special correspondent for the Milwaukee Sentinel, making trips to Europe to report on the urban European perspective.{{Cite report|url= https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/CBGYKVQXTDC5U8P |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1901 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |chapter= Biographical Sketches |page= [https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/ACBGYKVQXTDC5U8P/full/ABWIT4CUZ2WZPH8J 744] |accessdate= December 22, 2022 }}
Career
From 1896 to 1903, Stevens and future U.S. Representative Burr W. Jones operated the law firm Jones & Stevens. Additionally, Stevens was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1900. In 1903, Stevens was appointed a Wisconsin circuit court judge by Governor Robert M. La Follette. He was elected to the Supreme Court in 1925 and served as a member until his death.{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115028310/stevens-elected-justice/ |title= Judge Stevens Received Majority of 123,267 Votes |newspaper= Iron County Miner |date= May 8, 1925 |page= 1 |accessdate= December 22, 2022 |via= Newspapers.com }} During his time with the Supreme Court, he was also a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Stevens died at his home in the Nakoma neighborhood, in Madison, Wisconsin, on the morning of August 25, 1930. He suffered a brief illness that resulted in a heart attack.{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115026983/e-ray-stevens-dead/ |title= Justice E. Ray Stevens Dead |newspaper= The Capital Times |date= August 25, 1930 |page= 1 |accessdate= December 22, 2022 |via= Newspapers.com }}
Personal life and family
Stevens married Kate Sabin of Windsor, Wisconsin. Sabin was also a University of Wisconsin graduate; she worked as a high school teacher in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, served as Dane County superintendent of schools, and taught at the Milwaukee-Downer College.{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115027072/stevens-sabin-marriage/ |title= To Be Married |newspaper= Stevens Point Journal |date= June 21, 1898 |page= 1 |accessdate= December 22, 2022 |via= Newspapers.com }} They had three children together, though one died young.
Electoral history
=Wisconsin Assembly (1900)=
{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin Assembly, Dane 1st District Election, 1900}}
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 6, 1900
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = E. Ray Stevens
|votes = 3,468
|percentage = 56.32%
|change = +6.29%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = George W. Levis
|votes = 2,569
|percentage = 41.72%
|change = -8.25%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Prohibition Party (United States)
|candidate = Charles H. Parr
|votes = 121
|percentage = 1.96%
|change =
}}
{{Election box plurality
|votes = 899
|percentage = 14.60%
|change = +14.54%
}}
{{Election box total
|votes = 6,158
|percentage = 100.0%
|change = +28.96%
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing|
|winner = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
=Wisconsin Supreme Court (1925)=
{{Election box begin | title=1925 Wisconsin Supreme Court election}}
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 7, 1925
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party = Nonpartisan politician
|candidate = E. Ray Stevens
|votes = 256,431
|percentage = 65.81
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Nonpartisan politician
|candidate = John C. Kleist
|votes = 133,164
|percentage = 34.17
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party =
|candidate = Scattering
|votes = 73
|percentage = 0.02
|change =
}}
{{Election box plurality
|votes = 123,267
|percentage = 31.63
|change =
}}
{{Election box total
|votes = 389,668
|percentage = 100
|change =
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-wi-hs}}
{{s-bef|before = George E. Bryant }}
{{s-ttl|title = {{nobreak|Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly}} {{nobreak|from the Dane 1st district}} |years = January 7, 1901{{spaced ndash}}January 5, 1903 }}
{{s-aft|after = Matthew S. Dudgeon }}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before = Robert G. Siebecker }}
{{s-ttl|title = {{nobreak|Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge}} {{nobreak|for the 9th circuit}} |years = April 9, 1903{{spaced ndash}}December 31, 1926 }}
{{s-aft|after = Herman W. Sachtjen }}
{{s-bef|before = Burr W. Jones }}
{{s-ttl|title = Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court |years = January 1, 1926{{spaced ndash}}August 25, 1930 (death) }}
{{s-aft|after = George B. Nelson }}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, E. Ray}}
Category:People from Lake County, Illinois
Category:Politicians from Janesville, Wisconsin
Category:Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Category:Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni