Josiah+A.+Van+Orsdel


 * Josiah A. Van Orsdel **


 * Wyoming Supreme Court 1905-1906**

Josiah A. Van Orsdel was born in New Bedford, Pennsylvania on November 17, 1860. After practicing law a short time in New Castle, Pennsylvania, he moved to Cheyenne in 1891 and opened a law office. Active in politics, he was soon county and prosecuting attorney of Laramie County, member of the state house of representatives, chairman of a statute revision commission, chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, attorney general, and a delegate to the Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists. Governor William A. Richards appointed Van Orsdel as Justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy of Cyrus Beard. He resigned on January 31, 1906. He then served as assistant attorney general of the United States from 1906 to 1907. As a side note, when the Van Orsdel's moved to Washington, D.C., it was fitting that they lived on Wyoming Avenue. Van Orsdel died on August 7, 1937 in Great Barrington, Massachuesetts.

=Additional Resources=
 * [|"Josiah Alexander van Orsdel, Judge and Strict Constructionist"] by Leon J. Podles, Dialogue blog, June 12, 2015. (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"Judge Josiah A Van Orsdel" memorial], FindAGrave.com. (accessed September 2015)