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Waite, Edward Foote (1860–1958)

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Black and white portrait of Edward Foote Waite, 1918.

Edward Foote Waite, 1918. Along with his other work, Waite was a founding member of the Minneapolis NAACP. Photograph by the Lee Brothers.

Edward Foote Waite was a distinguished Minneapolis judge and community leader. His involvement in public affairs spanned much of the twentieth century.

Waite migrated from his birthplace in Norwich, New York, to Minnesota in 1888. He worked as a traveling examiner for the U.S. Pension Office, processing applications for pensions from Civil War veterans. As an examiner Waite gained a reputation for his keen eye in spotting fraudulent claims—a trait that dismayed cheaters but impressed his superiors.

After a brief time in private law practice Waite was named Assistant Hennepin County Attorney. In this role he investigated the administration of A. A. “Doc” Ames, the corrupt mayor whose four terms in office became known as “The Shame of Minneapolis.”

Based on his background as a tenacious fraud spotter, Waite was appointed by Mayor David P. Jones to serve as Minneapolis Chief of Police. In 1904 he was appointed to the municipal bench to fill a vacancy. He served in that role until 1911 when he became a district court judge.

It was at this time that Waite’s interests turned to work with the juvenile court, which was in its experimental stage. Like other officials, he recognized that the city’s juvenile justice system needed reform.

In 1917 Governor J.A.A. Burnquist appointed Waite to head a state commission to modernize and restructure the children’s juvenile justice code. The revised code remains part of Waite’s lasting legacy.

A proponent of what would be known today as “tough love,” Waite was a strict enforcer of the law. He was credited with helping hundreds of young people. He once dismissed his critics by observing that boys from well-off families were more likely to complain about being punished harshly than those from less privileged backgrounds.

Waite’s commitment to juvenile justice and children’s rights earned him a reputation as “the children’s friend.” Reflecting on Waite’s career in 1950, journalist Jay Edgerton noted that the judge “could be as firm and unyielding as Plymouth rock” with parents who had neglected their children. He projected a stern authority from the bench. Lawyers who flouted legal protocol risked his censure. “Children always got the breaks in Waite’s court,” Edgerton wrote, “and woe to those who forgot it.”

After twenty years presiding over juvenile court (1911–1921, 1931–1941), Waite retired in 1941. For almost two decades after his retirement he remained an active community leader, working long hours in his office on the twenty-third floor of the Rand Tower.

Waite explored a range of local issues in his publications and speeches. He wrote about the separation between church and state, about the condition of minorities in Minneapolis, and about racial segregation in the city’s public schools. He stressed the importance of overcoming prejudice, pointing out that facets of identity like race and religion are determined by chance.

While serving as special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General after World War II, Waite heard the cases of conscientious objectors. In 1949 he was appointed by Governor Luther Youngdahl to the state commission on reform of the state’s divorce law.

Waite died in 1958 at the age of ninety-eight. His contributions to social justice are recognized in the name of the Edward Foote Waite House in South Minneapolis and Waite Park and Waite School in Northeast Minneapolis.

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A/.W145e; A/+W145e
Edward F. Waite papers, 1764–1958
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Digitized and print materials, clippings, and pamphlet files.

Altrowitz, Abe. “Waite Backed Open Occupancy Opinion.” Minneapolis Star, May 24, 1958.

Published records and reports, 1927–1986
Minnesota Department of Public Welfare
State Archives Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/pwpub.pdf
Description: See the report titled, “An Overview of Child Welfare Services in Minnesota, 1969.”

Edgerton, Jay. “The Children’s Judge Turns 90.” Minneapolis Tribune, January 15, 1950.

“Edward Waite, Retired District Judge, Dies at 98.” Minneapolis Tribune, April 29, 1958.

“Elliot Park House Renamed for Waite.” Minneapolis Star, October 22, 1956.

The Minneapolis Collection
James Hosmer Special Collections, Minneapolis Central Library
Description: Clippings, biographies, and vertical files related to the career of Judge Waite.

Thorp, Vivian. “Children’s Judge Spends Decades to Assure Youth Fair Deal Under Law.” Minneapolis Times-Tribune, March 25, 1940.

“Today’s Personality (Judge E.F. Waite)”. Minneapolis Morning Tribune, November 30, 1940.

Waite, Edward F. “The Child Labor Amendment.” Minnesota Law Review 9, no. 3 (February 1925): 179–210.

——— . “Children of Divorce in Minnesota: Between the Millstones.” Minnesota Law Review 32, no. 7 (June 1948): 766–784.

——— . “Jefferson’s ‘Wall of Separation’: What and Where?” Minnesota Law Review 33 (1949): 494–516.

——— . The Origin and Development of the Minnesota Juvenile Court: Address Before the Minnesota Association of Probate Judges, January 15, 1920. [St Paul]: State Board of Control, 1920. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007813868

——— , and the Minnesota Child Welfare Commission. Report of the Child Welfare Commission with Bills Recommended and Synopses of All Changes From Present Law, 1917. St. Paul: Office of the Commission, [1917].

Woodruff, Al. “Judge Waite Dies, But Work Lives On.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 24, 1958.

Related Images

Black and white portrait of Edward Foote Waite, 1918.
Black and white portrait of Edward Foote Waite, 1918.
Black and white portrait of Edward Foote Waite, c.1890.
Black and white portrait of Edward Foote Waite, c.1890.
Black and white photograph of Edward F. Waite and his wife, Alice Maud Waite, c.1935.
Black and white photograph of Edward F. Waite and his wife, Alice Maud Waite, c.1935.
Black and white photograph of Edward Foote Waite, c.1945.
Black and white photograph of Edward Foote Waite, c.1945.
Black and white photograph of Edward Foote Waite on snowshoes, c.1945.
Black and white photograph of Edward Foote Waite on snowshoes, c.1945.
Black and white photograph of Edward F. Waite posed with students at Waite Park School, c.1955.
Black and white photograph of Edward F. Waite posed with students at Waite Park School, c.1955.

Turning Point

Waite becomes a district court judge in 1911. In this position he is responsible for the juvenile court, which becomes the focus of his life’s work.

Chronology

1860

Edward Foote Waite is born in Norwich, New York.

1888

Waite moves to Minnesota.

1904

Waite is appointed to the Minneapolis city court.

1911

Waite begins his career as a judge for the fourth judicial district of Minnesota. He presides over its juvenile court.

1934

The Inter-Racial Council awards Waite a medal for outstanding civic service.

1941

Waite retires from juvenile court.

1946

Waite receives the B’nai B’rith award for inter-racial public service.

1949

The Minnesota Law Review publishes Waite’s treatise on the separation of church and state, “Jefferson’s ‘Wall of Separation, What and Where?”.

1949

Waite Park is established in Northeast Minneapolis.

1950

Waite Park School—a unique collaboration between the Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Park Boards—opens.

1958

Waite dies at age ninety-eight.