John Sitgreaves (1757 – March 4, 1802) was a delegate to the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

, a United States Attorney for the District of North Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina, the United States District Court for the Edenton, New Bern & Wilmington Districts of North Carolina and the United States District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear & Pamptico Districts of North Carolina.

Education and career

Born in 1757, in England, Sitgreaves attended Eton College in England 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 ...

. He entered private practice in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

, Province of North Carolina,

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 ...

(State of North Carolina, United States from July 4, 1776). He served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

as a lieutenant during the American Revolutionary War, serving as a military aide to General William Caswell. He was clerk for the North Carolina Senate from 1777 to 1779. He was a member of the Board of Auditors for Public and Private Accounts in 1779. He was a commissioner for the sale of confiscated properties in New Bern in 1780. He was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons (now the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

) in 1784, and from 1786 to 1788, serving as Speaker from 1787 to 1788. He was a delegate to the

(

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

) from 1784 to 1785. He was a member of the North Carolina convention to ratify 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 ...

. He was the United States Attorney for the District of North Carolina from 1789 to 1790.

Federal judicial service

Sitgreaves 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 December 17, 1790, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina vacated by Judge John Stokes. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 1790, and received his commission the same day. Sitgreaves was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Edenton, New Bern & Wilmington Districts of North Carolina (also referenced officially as the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina) on June 9, 1794, to a new seat authorized by . Sitgreaves was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina on March 3, 1797, to a new seat authorized by . Sitgreaves was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear & Pamptico Districts of North Carolina (also referenced officially as the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina) on February 13, 1801, to a new seat authorized by . His service terminated on March 4, 1802, due to his death in Halifax, North Carolina. He was interred in Colonial Churchyard in Halifax. Sitgreaves was nominated to the United States Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit on February 21, 1801, and was confirmed by the Senate on February 24, 1801, but he declined the appointment.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sitgreaves, John 1757 births 1802 deaths 18th-century American politicians 18th-century American judges Continental Army officers from North Carolina Continental Congressmen from North Carolina Judges of the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina lawyers People educated at Eton College Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina United States Attorneys United States federal judges appointed by George Washington Date of birth missing United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Halifax County, North Carolina