Henry Williams Blodgett (July 21, 1821 – February 9, 1905) was a

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 Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...

Education and career

Born on July 21, 1821, in

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, Blodgett

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 1844. He entered private practice in Waukegan,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

from 1845 to 1869. He was a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1852 to 1854. He was a member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from 1858 to 1862.

Federal judicial service

Blodgett was nominated by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

on January 10, 1870, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Thomas Drummond. 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 January 11, 1870, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 5, 1892, due to his retirement.

Later career and death

Following his retirement from the federal bench, Blodgett served as United States counsel before the Bering Sea Tribunal of Arbitration for settlement of differences between the United States and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

involving fur seal fisheries in the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

from 1892 to 1893. Blodgett owned Crab Tree Farm in

Lake Bluff, Illinois Lake Bluff is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,616. History The first settler family to claim land within the area now part of Lake Bluff arrived in 1836. They claimed 100 acres of ...

, which was later sold and split between

William M. Blair William McCormick Blair (May 2, 1884 – March 29, 1982), was an American financier. Early life William McCormick Blair was born May 2, 1884, in Chicago. His father, Edward Tyler Blair, was the son of William Blair, who founded the first wholesal ...

and

Grace Durand Grace Garrett Durand (August 25, 1867 – February 26, 1948) was an American clubwoman, business owner, and temperance activist. Early life Grace Denise Garrett was born in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of William Garrett and Martha Rorer Garret ...

, and is still in operation. He died on February 9, 1905, in Waukegan.

References

Sources

* * Richard Cahan, ''A Court That Shaped America: Chicago's Federal District Court from Abe Lincoln to Abbie Hoffman'' (Northwestern University Press, 2002)
Henry W. Blodgett's ''Autobiography'' (1906)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blodgett, Henry Williams 1821 births 1905 deaths Illinois state senators Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant 19th-century American judges People from Waukegan, Illinois Politicians from Amherst, Massachusetts United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Lake Bluff, Illinois