# Joseph Poindexter > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joseph_Poindexter > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joseph_Poindexter.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Poindexter > Source revision: 1334491332 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American lawyer Joseph Poindexter 8th Territorial Governor of Hawaii In office March 2, 1934 – August 24, 1942 Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Preceded by Lawrence M. Judd Succeeded by Ingram Stainback 6th Attorney General of Montana In office May 31, 1915 – January 1, 1917 Governor Sam V. Stewart Preceded by D. M. Kelly Succeeded by Sam C. Ford Judge of the United States District Court for the Territory of Hawaii In office May 14, 1917 – February 16, 1924 Appointed by Woodrow Wilson Preceded by Charles F. Clemons Succeeded by William T. Rawlins Personal details Born Joseph Boyd Poindexter April 14, 1869 Canyon City, Oregon, U.S. Died December 3, 1951(1951-12-03) (aged 82) Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, U.S. Party Democratic Spouse Margaret Conger Children 2 Alma mater Wesleyan University Washington University in St. Louis **Joseph Boyd Poindexter** (April 14, 1869 – December 3, 1951) was the eighth [Territorial Governor of Hawaii](/source/Governor_of_Hawaii), serving from 1934 to 1942. ## Early life Joseph Boyd Poindexter was born in [Canyon City, Oregon](/source/Canyon_City%2C_Oregon) to Thomas W. and Margaret (Pipkin) Poindexter. He attended [Wesleyan University](/source/Wesleyan_University) and earned his [LL.B.](/source/LL.B.) degree from [Washington University School of Law](/source/Washington_University_School_of_Law). He was admitted to the Montana Bar in 1892,[1] and served as County Attorney of [Beaverhead County, Montana](/source/Beaverhead_County%2C_Montana) from 1897 to 1903. He was appointed judge of the Fifth Judicial District in [Beaverhead](/source/Beaverhead_County%2C_Montana), [Madison](/source/Madison_County%2C_Montana), and [Jefferson](/source/Jefferson_County%2C_Montana) 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](/source/Attorney_General_of_Montana) from 1915 to 1917.[2][3] ## Career In 1917, President [Woodrow Wilson](/source/Woodrow_Wilson) appointed Poindexter as Judge on the [United States District Court for the District of Hawaii](/source/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](/source/Franklin_D._Roosevelt) appointed Poindexter the eighth governor of Hawaii on January 30, 1934.[4][5] A joint Congressional Committee visited Hawaii in 1937 and submitted a report in February 1938 recommending a [plebiscite](/source/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](/source/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor) on December 7, 1941, Poindexter placed the territory under [martial law](/source/Martial_law) and allowed the U.S. military to form a military government.[6][7] He mobilized the [Hawaii Territorial Guard](/source/Hawaii_Territorial_Guard) while the attack was still ongoing and appointed himself its [captain general](/source/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](/source/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.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ### 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](/source/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.[8] ## Later life Poindexter resumed his law practice after leaving the governorship. In July 1943, the [Hawaii Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Hawaii) appointed him a trustee of the [Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate](/source/Kamehameha_Schools) (now Kamehameha Schools), in which capacity he served until his death in [Honolulu, Hawaii](/source/Honolulu%2C_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 [Dillon, Montana](/source/Dillon%2C_Montana). ## Personal life Poindexter married Margaret Conger in Dillon, Montana on April 22, 1897. The couple had two children.[3] ## Fraternal memberships - [Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks](/source/Benevolent_and_Protective_Order_of_Elks) - [Freemason](/source/Freemasonry) - [Shriner](/source/Ancient_Arabic_Order_of_the_Nobles_of_the_Mystic_Shrine) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "TERRITORIES: Poindexter in Paradise". *Time*. February 12, 1934. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Political Graveyard"](http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/poindexter.html). Lawrence Kestenbaum. Retrieved December 6, 2010. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Men_of_Hawaii_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Men_of_Hawaii_3-1) Siddal, John William (1921). [*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*](https://archive.org/details/menofhawaiibiogr00sidd). Honolulu Star-bulletin. p. [214](https://archive.org/details/menofhawaiibiogr00sidd/page/214). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-147-38215-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-147-38215-0). [OL](/source/OL_(identifier)) [25119222M](https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25119222M) – via www.archive.org. {{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#invalid_isbn_date)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Krauss, Bob (1994). *Johnny Wilson: First Hawaiian Democrat*. University of Hawaii Press. p. 236. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8248-1577-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8248-1577-6). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Rayson, Ann (2004). *Modern History Of Hawaii*. Bess Press. p. 122. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57306-209-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57306-209-1). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Whitehead, John S; Cronon, William; Lamar, Howard R; [Ridge, Martin](/source/Martin_Ridge_(historian)); Weber, David J (2004). *Completing the Union: Alaska, Hawai'i, and the Battle for Statehood*. University of New Mexico Press. pp. 71–72. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8263-3637-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8263-3637-8). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Chambers, John (2006). *Hawaii (On the Road Histories)*. Interlink Publishing Group. pp. 243–245. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-56656-615-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-56656-615-5). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["An Elk for Governor: J. B. Poindexter"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080828053323/http://www.elks616.org/d/d/3014.html). *Honolulu Elks Lodge No. 616*. Archived from [the original](http://www.elks616.org/d/d/3014.html) on August 28, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2010. credited to [Honolulu Advertiser](/source/Honolulu_Advertiser) December 7, 1951 ## Further reading Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Joseph Poindexter](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Joseph_Poindexter). - Dyer, C.Y. (editor), *Biographical Sketches of Hawaii's Rulers*, 8th ed. (Honolulu: Bishop National Bank of Hawaii, 1957), p. 34-35. Legal offices Preceded by D. M. Kelly Attorney General of Montana 1915–1917 Succeeded by Sam C. Ford Preceded by Charles F. Clemons United States District Court Judge 1917–1924 Succeeded by William T. Rawlins Political offices Preceded by Lawrence M. Judd Territorial Governor of Hawaii 1934–1942 Succeeded by Ingram Stainback v t e Governors of Hawaii Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi (1898–1941) Dole Carter Frear Pinkham McCarthy Farrington Judd Poindexter Military Governor of Hawaii (1941–1944) Short Emmons Richardson Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi (1944–1959) Stainback Long King Quinn Governor of Hawaiʻi (1959–present) Quinn Burns Ariyoshi Waiheʻe Cayetano Lingle Abercrombie Ige Green Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Other SNAC --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph Poindexter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Poindexter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Poindexter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.