Charles Matteson

Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Charles Matteson, from The Green Bag. Charles Matteson (March 21, 1840 – August 14, 1925) was a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1875 to 1900, serving as chief justice from 1891 to 1900.

Early life and career Born in Coventry, Rhode Island, Matteson was the son of Asahel and Julia M. (Johnson) Matteson. He attended a private school in Providence, and after working as a clerk in his father's store for two years, attended the University Grammar School, and the Providence Conference Seminary in East Greenwich, for a time. Matteson studied law at Harvard Law School from 1862 to 1863, and was admitted to the Rhode Island bar in January 1864. by the Republican votes in the state legislature, to fill the vacancy caused by the elevation of Justice Durfee to the office of chief justice. In July 1891, Matteson succeeded Durfee as chief justice.