Editing Joseph Poindexter

{{short description|American lawyer}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Joseph Poindexter 
|image        = Joseph B. Poindexter (vol. 2, 1921).jpg
|image_size   = 
|caption      =
|office       = 8th [[Territorial Governor of Hawaii]]
|term_start   = March 2, 1934
|term_end     = August 24, 1942
|appointer    = [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
|predecessor  = [[Lawrence M. Judd]]
|successor    = [[Ingram Stainback]]   
|office2      = 6th [[Attorney General of Montana]]
|governor2    = [[Sam V. Stewart]]
|term_start2  = May 31, 1915 
|term_end2    = January 1, 1917 
|predecessor2 = D. M. Kelly
|successor2   = [[Sam C. Ford]]
|office3      = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Hawaii|United States District Court for the Territory of Hawaii]]
|appointer3   = [[List of federal judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson|Woodrow Wilson]]
|term_start3  = May 14, 1917
|term_end3    = February 16, 1924
|predecessor3 = Charles F. Clemons
|successor3   = William T. Rawlins
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|birth_name   = Joseph Boyd Poindexter
|birth_date   = April 14, 1869 
|birth_place  = [[Canyon City, Oregon]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1951|12|3|1869|4|14}}  
|death_place  = [[Honolulu]], [[Territory of Hawaii]], U.S.
|alma_mater   = [[Wesleyan University]]<br>[[Washington University in St. Louis]]
|spouse       = Margaret Conger
|children     = Everton<br>Helen
|occupation   =  
|nationality  = American
}}
'''Joseph Boyd Poindexter''' (April 14, 1869 &ndash; December 3, 1951) was the eighth [[Governor of Hawaii|Territorial Governor of Hawaii]] and served from 1934 to 1942.

==Early life==
Joseph Boyd Poindexter was born in [[Canyon City, Oregon]] to Thomas W. and Margaret (Pipkin) Poindexter. He attended [[Wesleyan University]] and earned his [[LL.B.]] degree from [[Washington University in St. Louis]]. He was admitted to the Montana Bar in 1892,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=TERRITORIES: Poindexter in Paradise|magazine=Time|date=February 12, 1934}}</ref> and served as County Attorney of [[Beaverhead County, Montana]] from 1897 to 1903. He was  appointed judge of the Fifth Judicial District in Beaverhead, Madison, and Jefferson counties,  Montana in 1909. He later served as a district judge in Montana from 1909 to 1915, and he later served  as Attorney General of Montana from 1915 to 1917.<ref>{{cite web|title=Political Graveyard|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/poindexter.html|publisher=Lawrence Kestenbaum|accessdate=December 6, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Men of Hawaii">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/menofhawaiibiogr00sidd|last=Siddal|first=John William|title=Men of Hawaii: Being a Biographical Reference Library, Complete and Authentic, of the Men of Note and Substantial Achievement in the Hawaiian Islands, Volume 2|year=1921|publisher=Honolulu Star-bulletin|via=www.archive.org|ol =25119222M|isbn=978-1-147-38215-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/menofhawaiibiogr00sidd/page/214 214]}}</ref>

==Career==
In 1917, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] appointed Poindexter as Judge on the [[United States District Court for the District of Hawaii]].  Poindexter served in that capacity from May 14, 1917, to February 16, 1924.  He then practiced law in Hawaii until 1934. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] appointed Poindexter the eighth governor of Hawaii on January 30, 1934.<ref>{{cite book |last=Krauss|first=Bob |title= Johnny Wilson: First Hawaiian Democrat|year=1994|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-1577-6|page=236}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rayson|first=Ann|title=Modern History Of Hawaii |year=2004|publisher=Bess Press|isbn=978-1-57306-209-1|page=122}}</ref>

A joint Congressional Committee visited Hawaii in 1937 and submitted a report in February 1938 recommending a [[plebiscite]] for Hawaii statehood. The plebiscite, held on November 5, 1940, resulted in the voters recommending statehood for Hawaii.

Poindexter was appointed to the governorship of Hawaii by Roosevelt in 1934; he was reappointed to the governorship in 1938. Poindexter was the only  second  territorial governor to that point to serve more than one term of office.

In the immediate aftermath of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on December 7, 1941, Poindexter placed the territory under [[martial law]] and allowed the U.S. military to form a military government.<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitehead|first=John S|title=Completing the Union: Alaska, Hawai'i, and the Battle for Statehood |year=2004|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|isbn=978-0-8263-3637-8|pages=71–72|author2=Cronon, William |author3=Lamar, Howard R |author4=Ridge, Martin | author-link4= Martin Ridge (historian) |author5=Weber, David J }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Chambers|first=John|title=Hawaii (On the Road Histories)|year=2006|publisher=Interlink Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-56656-615-5|pages=243–245}}</ref> He mobilized the [[Hawaii Territorial Guard]] while the attack was still ongoing and appointed himself its [[captain general]]. The military government would continue until 1943. After his term expired, Poindexter remained in office until August 24, 1942, when his successor, [[Ingram Stainback]], was confirmed. He remained in Hawaii and practiced law and in July 1943, the Hawaii supreme Court appointed him as one of the trustees of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

===Gubernatorial accomplishments===
An editorial at his death credited Poindexter with a balanced budget, improved civil service and wage laws that regulated child labor and improved public health and welfare. During his administration the Hawaii Housing Authority was established, and projects such as the "Mayor Wright homes" (named for [[George F. Wright]]) were begun.
He advocated for larger airports and other major public works projects, including roads, parks, schools and the Ala Wai Golf Course.<ref>{{cite web |title= An Elk for Governor: J. B. Poindexter |work= Honolulu Elks Lodge No. 616 |url= http://www.elks616.org/d/d/3014.html |accessdate= December 6, 2010 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080828053323/http://www.elks616.org/d/d/3014.html |archivedate= August 28, 2008 }} credited to [[Honolulu Advertiser]] December 7, 1951</ref>

==Later life==
Poindexter resumed his law practice after leaving the governorship.  In July 1943, the [[Supreme Court of Hawaii|Hawaii Supreme Court]] appointed him a trustee of the [[Kamehameha Schools|Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate]] (now Kamehameha Schools), in which capacity he served until his death in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]] on December 3, 1951. His picture appeared on the cover of the July 23, 1934 Times Magazine. He is buried next to his wife Margaret in Mountain View cemetery in Dillion Montana.

==Personal life==

Poindexter married Margaret Conger in [[Dillon, Montana]] on April 22, 1897. The couple had two children, Everton and Helen.<ref name="Men of Hawaii"/>

==Fraternal memberships==

*[[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks]]
*[[Freemasonry|Freemason]]
*[[Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine|Shriner]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category}}
* Dyer, C.Y. (editor), ''Biographical Sketches of Hawaii's Rulers'', 8th ed. (Honolulu: Bishop National Bank of Hawaii, 1957), p.&nbsp;34-35.

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{succession box | title=[[Attorney General of Montana]] | before=D. M. Kelly | after=[[Sam C. Ford]]| years= 1915&ndash;1917 }}
{{Succession box | title= [[United States District Court for the District of Hawaii|United States District Court]] Judge |before= Charles F. Clemons |years= 1917&ndash;1924 |after= William T. Rawlins}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Governor of Hawaii|Territorial Governor of Hawaii]]|before=[[Lawrence M. Judd]]|after=[[Ingram Stainback]]|years=1934&ndash;1942}}
{{s-end}}
{{Governors of Hawaii}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poindexter, Joseph}}
[[Category:1869 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:Montana state court judges]]
[[Category:Montana attorneys general]]
[[Category:Governors of the Territory of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]]
[[Category:Washington University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Montana lawyers]]
[[Category:People from Canyon City, Oregon]]
[[Category:People from Dillon, Montana]]
[[Category:Hawaii Democrats]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Territory of Hawaii]]
[[Category:United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson]]