![Mrs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Mrs._Henry_Marchant_%28Rebecca_Cooke%29.jpg)
Henry Marchant (April 9, 1741 – August 30, 1796) was a
Founding Father of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary
Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were t ...
, an
attorney general of Rhode Island
The Attorney General of Rhode Island is the chief legal advisor of the Government of the State of Rhode Island and oversees the State of Rhode Island Department of Law. The attorney general is elected every four years. The current Attorney Gene ...
, a delegate to the
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...
from
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, a signer of the
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
, and the first
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the ...
.
Education and career
Born on April 9, 1741, in
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
,
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...
,
British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
,
Marchant received an
Artium Magister degree in 1762 from the College of Philadelphia (now the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
) and
read law
Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...
in 1776.
[FJC Bio indicates he read law in 1776, while his Congressional Biography indicates he was admitted to the bar in 1767.][ He entered private practice in Newport from 1767 to 1777.][ He was attorney general of Rhode Island from 1771 to 1777.][ He was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress from 1777 to 1779.][ He was one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation.] He resumed private practice in South Kingstown
South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...
, Rhode Island, from 1780 to 1784, also engaging in farming.[ He was a member of the ]Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...
from 1784 to 1790.[ He was a member of the Rhode Island convention to adopt the ]United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
, which ultimately was adopted by a separate convention in 1790.[
]
Federal judicial service
Marchant was nominated by President George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
on July 2, 1790, to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the ...
, to a new seat authorized by .[ He was confirmed by the ]United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on July 3, 1790, and received his commission the same day.[ His service terminated when he died on August 30, 1796, in Newport.][ He was interred in the ]Common Burial Ground
The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair ...
in Newport.[
]
Notable case
Marchant presided over ''West v. Barnes
''West v. Barnes''2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 401 (1791) was the first United States Supreme Court decision and the earliest case calling for oral argument. '' Van Staphorst v. Maryland'' (1791) was docketed prior to ''West v. Barnes'' but settled before the ...
'' (1791), which was the first case appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.
Church and farm
Marchant was a member of Second Congregational Church of Newport. His farm, the Henry Marchant Farm, is located in South Kingstown.
Note
References
Further reading
* Lovejoy, David S. "Henry Marchant and the Mistress of the World." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 3d ser., 12 (July 1955): 375–98.
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchant, Henry
1741 births
1796 deaths
Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island
18th-century American politicians
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
People from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island
People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Attorneys General
People of colonial Rhode Island
Signers of the Articles of Confederation
United States federal judges appointed by George Washington
18th-century American judges
University of Pennsylvania alumni
Burials at Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery
United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law