ALBERT BRANSON MARIS 1893-1989 Special Master under Appointment of the U.S. Supreme Court, an august office that marked the culmination of a distinguished career in jurisprudence.
Justice Maris was born in Philadelphia on December 19, 1893 to a family of Quakers whose heritage stretches back to George Maris who immigrated from England in 1683 into Springfield Township in Chester County PA where he became a judge and member of the provincial assembly. Albert and his family were members of the Society of Friends and he studied at the Friends Select School and then at Westtown School where his father and grandfather had also attended. Further education was delayed by the necessity of supporting his widowed mother and several younger siblings. Following a correspondence course in business, he took a job as a clerk for an insurance company.
Soon he began taking night classes at Temple University.This study enabled him to pass the college entrance examination. At that time the study of law did not demand a bachelor's degree as prerequisite, and Maris enrolled in the Temple University School of Law. He graduated in the class of 1917. On graduation day he and his betrothed, Edith Robinson, were married, but the Great War interrupted their plans for homemaking and law practice. Maris enrolled as a private in an artillery battalion and was later promoted to officer status.