John Birdsall (1802 – July 22, 1839) was an American lawyer and politician from New York and Texas.

Biography

New York

Born in the town of Greene in New York's Chenango County, he was the son of Maurice Birdsall (1774–1852) and Ann (Pixley) Birdsall (1778–1829). He married Ann Whiteside (1805–1833), and then Sarah Peacock (1816–1895). New York State Treasurer

Alvah Hunt Alvah Hunt (c. 1798 Seekonk, Bristol County, Massachusetts – October 28, 1858 New York City) was an American merchant and politician. Life He lived at Greene, Chenango County, New York, where he married Anna Birdsall (d. 1878). He was a me ...

was Birdsall's brother-in-law. He was admitted to the bar, and practiced in

Mayville, New York Mayville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Chautauqua, New York. It is the county seat of Chautauqua County, New York, Chautauqua County. The population was 1,477 at the 2020 census, 13.7% less than in the ...

. He was Judge of the Eighth Circuit Court from 1826 to 1829. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

( Chautauqua Co.) in

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto estab ...

alongside Squire White He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

(6th D.) from 1832 to 1834, sitting in the 55th, 56th and

57th New York State Legislature The 57th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to May 6, 1834, during the second year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provis ...

s. He resigned his seat on June 5, 1834.

Texas

In 1837, he removed to Houston, then the capital of the independent Republic of Texas, and resumed the practice of law there. The same year, he was appointed Attorney General of the Republic of Texas. In November 1838, he was appointed by President

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

James Collinsworth James Thompson Collinsworth (1802 – July 11, 1838) was an American-born Texan lawyer and political figure in early history of the Republic of Texas. Early life Collinsworth was born in 1802 Davidson County, Tennessee. His father, Edward Colli ...

, but the Texas Congress did not confirm the appointment, and instead elected

Thomas Jefferson Rusk Thomas Jefferson Rusk (December 5, 1803July 29, 1857) was an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first secretary of war and as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a U.S. politician and se ...

a few days after Houston left the presidency. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in partnership with Houston, but died a few months later in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

at the age of 37 and was buried at the city's Glendale Cemetery. Neither Collinsworth nor Birdsall ever convened the Supreme Court, the first session was held in January 1840, six months after Birdsall's death, with Rusk as chief justice.

References

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 129f, 138, 210, 259 and 356; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''Texas in 1837''
ed. by Andrew Forest Muir (1958; pg. 216)
Handbook of Texas Online - John Birdsall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdsall, John 1802 births 1839 deaths People from Greene, New York People from Mayville, New York Politicians from Houston New York (state) state senators Members of the New York State Assembly Anti-Masonic Party politicians from New York (state) Texas attorneys general Chief justices of the Republic of Texas Supreme Court 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature