Representative John Stanley Webster

John Stanley Webster (February 22, 1877 – December 24, 1962) was a justice of the Washington Supreme Court, a United States representative from Washington, and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1919 to 1925, contributing to the legislative process during a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his constituents in Washington’s 5th congressional district.

Webster was born on February 22, 1877, in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky. He was educated in the public schools and at Smith’s Classical School for Boys in his hometown. Pursuing a legal career, he attended the University of Michigan Law School. After completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Cynthiana in 1899. He practiced law there until 1906 and simultaneously served as prosecutor for Harrison County from 1902 to 1906, gaining early experience in criminal law and public service.

In May 1906, Webster moved west to Washington State for health reasons and worked a small ranch near Colbert, just north of Spokane. He soon resumed his legal career, becoming chief assistant prosecutor for Spokane from 1907 to 1909. His abilities as a lawyer and public official led to his election as a judge of the Superior Court of the State of Washington for Spokane County, a position he held from 1909 to 1916. During this period, he also served as a lecturer on criminal and elementary law at Gonzaga University in Spokane, contributing to the legal education of aspiring attorneys in the region.

Webster’s judicial career advanced when he was easily elected in 1916 to a six-year term as an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court in Olympia. Before his elected term formally began, Governor Ernest Lister appointed him on November 20, 1916, to fill a vacancy on the court, allowing him to assume the office early. He served on the state’s highest court until May 1918, when he resigned to run for the United States Congress, marking a transition from state judicial service to national legislative office.

Elected as a Republican from Washington’s 5th congressional district, Webster entered the United States House of Representatives for the 66th Congress and was subsequently re-elected to the 67th and 68th Congresses. His service in Congress began on March 4, 1919, and extended through a period marked by post–World War I adjustments and significant domestic policy debates. He participated in the democratic process and legislative deliberations on behalf of his Washington constituents. Webster resigned from the House on May 8, 1923, to accept appointment to the federal bench, concluding his three terms in the lower chamber.

Webster’s federal judicial career began with a recess appointment from President Warren G. Harding on April 28, 1923, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, vacated by Judge Frank H. Rudkin. President Calvin Coolidge formally nominated him to the same position on December 15, 1923. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination on January 16, 1924, and he received his commission that same day. He served actively on the district court until August 31, 1939, when he assumed senior status due to a certified disability. In senior status, he continued to be associated with the court, extending his influence on the federal judiciary in Eastern Washington.

In addition to his judicial responsibilities, Webster briefly engaged in professional baseball administration. He served for a short period as president of the Western International League, a minor league baseball organization that was a predecessor of the modern Northwest League, resigning from that position in February 1941. His life in Washington was also closely tied to his family. His older brother, Richard M. Webster, who had moved to eastern Washington in 1904, likewise served as a judge in Spokane, reflecting a family tradition of legal and judicial service.

John Stanley Webster resided in Spokane, Washington, during his later years and remained on the federal bench in senior status until his death. He died in Spokane on December 24, 1962, and his service as a senior United States district judge terminated on that date. His remains were cremated and interred in Oakesdale Cemetery in Oakesdale, Whitman County, Washington, the hometown of his wife, Mary Gertrude (Lathrum) Webster (1887–1956), whose father, John Lathrum (1853–1902), had served as sheriff there. Webster and his wife had been married for 48 years at the time of her death in 1956, and they were reunited in burial in her family’s community.