Herbert C. Joyner

Herbert Curtis Joyner (July 12, 1838 – January 5, 1927) was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the Massachusetts Senate from 1884 to 1886 and the Democratic Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1902.

Early life Joyner was born on July 12, 1838, in New Hartford, New York, to Newton and Mary A. (Curtis) Joyner. His great-grandfather, Octavius Joyner, and grandfather, Philo Joyner, represented Egremont, Massachusetts in the Massachusetts General Court.

Legal career In 1860, Joyner moved to Great Barrington, Massachusetts and studied law in the office of Thomas Twinning. In 1893, he defended William Coy, who was accused of killing a co-worker he believed had an affair with his wife. Coy was found guilty and hanged. In 1907, he was appointed by the court to defend William M. Berry, who was charged with the murder of his wife, Rose. Berry was found insane and committed to the Hospital for Insane Criminals.

Politics From 1866 to 1878, Joyner was a member of the Great Barrington school board. During his tenure, the school district divided levels of study into grades and constructed its first high school. It was the closest a Democrat had come to winning that seat to that point. He lost to Republican Curtis Guild Jr. 191,997 votes to 137,614.

Personal life and death On January 5, 1855, Joyner married Mary E. Wilde in Norton, Massachusetts.

Joynder died on January 5, 1927, in Brookline, Massachusetts.