Archives West Finding Aid

Richard Montgomery Webster was born in Leesburg, Kentucky, on August 30, 1869. He graduated from the National University Law School in Washington, D. C. with a L.L.B. and from George Washington University, Washington, D. C., with an L.L.M. In 1902 he was appointed law clerk to the Post Office Department. He rapidly advanced to the position of Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Post Office Department.

Webster came to Spokane in 1904. In addition to his private law practice, he served as an instructor at Gonzaga University Law School. In 1917 he was elected superior court judge for Spokane, a position he held throughout the remainder of his career. During the years following 1919 until his retirement in 1948, his greatest efforts were devoted to juvenile court work.

Webster's brother, John Stanley Webster, arrived two years later in 1906 and became a prominent judicial and political figure in Spokane.

Webster was married to Florence Knode of Fairmont, Minnesota, in August 1908. Their three children included a daughter Virginia Garrard (Holmes), and two sons, John Landram and Thomas Richard. On March 14, 1953, Judge Webster passed away at the age of eighty-three years.