Born in Greenville, he was the son of Sarah Rebecca (née Anthony) and Dr. Joel Edgar Green Terrell.[1] He attended the common schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1882, commencing practice in Greenville.
On October 19, 1886, he married Jessie Lee Spivey. They had no children.[1]
Terrell was a self-declared "uncompromising friend of common school education."[2]
Terrell was of English ancestry and of partial Norman descent.[3]
He again resumed the practice of law in Atlanta although in poor health and died there from Bright's Disease on November 17, 1912. He was survived by his wife.[2][5]
Interment was in the City Cemetery, Greenville.
The Liberty shipJoseph M. Terrell was named for him.[6] Terrell Hall, on the campus of Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, was also named for him.[7]
References
^ abDicken, Emma. Terrell Genealogy. San Antonio, Texas: The Naylor Company. pp. 159–160. He was a member of the Georgia Legislature 1884- 1890; Attorney General of Georgia 1892-1902; governor of Georgia 1902-1907; a U. S. Senator in the 61st Congress.
