Bradley B. Meeker (March 13, 1813 – February 19, 1873) was an American jurist, lawyer, and businessman. Meeker was born on March 13, 1813, in

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan area ...

, to Joseph and Rhoda Meeker (). His family was very poor, despite being descendants of one of their city's founders. Meeker was related to Truman Smith, a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

who inspired him to pursue law. With the help of Governor

Gideon Tomlinson Gideon Tomlinson (December 31, 1780 – October 8, 1854) was a United States senator, United States Representative, and the 25th Governor for the state of Connecticut. Biography Born in Stratford, Tomlinson completed preparatory studies and ...

, Meeker went to

Weston Academy Weston Academy was an Isle of Wight primary school run by the Academies Enterprise Trust academy chain. It closed in 2015. History Previously called Weston Community Primary School, the school was located in Totland Bay in the far West of the Isl ...

and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Meeker practiced law in

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States. It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is home to Eastern Kentucky University. In 2019, the population was 36,157. Richmond is the fourth-la ...

, from 1838 to 1845 and in

Flemingsburg, Kentucky Flemingsburg is a home rule-class city in Fleming County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 2,658 at the 2010 census, down from 3,010 at the 2000 census. It is the seat of Fleming County. Geography Flemingsburg is located no ...

. Meeker came to Minnesota Territory in 1848. After making a name for himself in the world of law, Meeker was nominated to serve on the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

on March 15, 1849, with the Senate confirming him on March 19, 1849. He took the

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...

on May 9, 1849. His four-year term expired on March 18, 1853. Of the three justices on the court at the time ( Chief Justice Aaron Goodrich, Justice David Cooper, and himself), he was the least controversial. Meeker Island Lock and Dam

Once he left the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court, Meeker was elected as a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United ...

of the Minnesota Constitutional Convention, served as one of the first regents of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and was a charter member of the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

. Meeker was a charter member of the

and also served on the

Board of Regents. He owned land on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, including

Meeker Island The Meeker Island Lock and Dam (originally known as Lock and Dam No. 2) was the first lock and dam facility built on the Upper Mississippi River. Meeker Island was named after its owner Judge Bradley B. Meeker. Meeker County was named after him ...

, which was named after him. In 1856, he had a county named in his honour. Meeker died suddenly in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, of Apoplexy while on a trip on February 19, 1873. He was never married to anybody. He was buried at the Greens Farms Church Upper Cemetery in Westport, Connecticut.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeker, Bradley B. 1813 births 1873 deaths People from Fairfield, Connecticut Yale University alumni Kentucky lawyers Businesspeople from Minnesota Minnesota Territory judges 19th-century American judges 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American lawyers