Joseph Maull Carey (January 19, 1845 – February 5, 1924) was an American lawyer, rancher, judge, and politician, who was active in Wyoming local, state, and federal politics.

[2][3] On April 3, 1869, Carey was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant as the first United States attorney in the Wyoming Territory and arrived on May 8.

[4] On December 14, 1871, he was nominated as an associate justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court by Grant, confirmed by the Senate on January 18, 1872, and served until 1876.

[2][3][5] During the second session of the United States Centennial Commission, Carey was selected to represent the Wyoming Territory and served on the Committee on Nomination of Secretaries of Departments.

[9] In 1880, Carey was elected as mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming while he was out of state by running on a public works improvement platform.

During his tenure as mayor, the city's water and sewage systems were completed, an opera house was built, and the Stock Growers National Bank was organized and selected Carey to serve as its first president.

[2][3] The Wyoming Development Company was founded in 1883 with the intention of bringing water to thousands of arid acres of land in the Wheatland Flats.

Water from the reservoir was transferred throughout the flats through canals and ditches and successfully irrigated 50,000 acres of land, allowing the area to become inhabitable.

[10][11] On July 30, 1874, the Wyoming Republican Party unanimously nominated Carey at its state convention to serve as the territory's delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the at-large congressional district, but was narrowly defeated by incumbent Democratic Delegate William Randolph Steele.

[20] When Territorial Governor William Hale died, Carey asked President Chester A. Arthur to nominate Warren, as he was a resident of Wyoming, rather than select a non-resident.

[2][3] In 1895, he ran for reelection, but the state legislature unanimously voted in favor of Francis E. Warren due to Carey's opposition to the free silver movement.

[27][28] On September 10, he announced that he would run as an independent in the gubernatorial election in order to break the Republican political machine that controlled Wyoming.

[39] On October 14, 1916, Carey endorsed incumbent President Woodrow Wilson for reelection during the 1916 presidential election against Republican nominee Charles Evans Hughes.

[45] On February 8, all business in Wyoming was suspended and members of the state government, including Governor William B. Ross, eulogized Carey.

[46] On February 13, the Wyoming Supreme Court had resolutions written by Hugo Donzelman, Thomas Hunter, and Anthony C. Campbell eulogizing Carey placed into the record.