Littleton Kirkpatrick (October 19, 1797 – August 15, 1859) was an American Whig Party

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for one term from 1853 to 1855. He was the son of Andrew Kirkpatrick and the former Jane Bayard, and grandson of

John Bubenheim Bayard John Bubenheim Bayard (11 August 1738 – 7 January 1807) was a merchant, soldier, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He achieved the rank of colonel while serving with the Continental Army, and was a delegate for Pennsylvania t ...

Biography

Kirkpatrick was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

in 1815. He studied law in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, was admitted to the bar in 1821, and returned to New Brunswick to begin his practice. He was master in court chancery in 1824, and surrogate of Middlesex County from 1831 to 1836. He was

Mayor of New Brunswick, New Jersey The Mayor of New Brunswick is head of the executive branch of the government of New Brunswick, New Jersey. References {{reflist * New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and t ...

from 1841 to 1842. His grandfather

had been elected mayor of the city in 1790. Kirkpatrick served as a trustee of

Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

from 1841 to 1859. He was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth Congress, serving in office one term from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1845. He was chairman of the Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business. He died in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

on August 15, 1859. He was interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery in New Brunswick. He was reinterred in

Van Liew Cemetery The Van Liew Cemetery is located at 585 Georges Road in North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. It also has an entrance from Pine Street. The cemetery is one of the oldest in the township. Around 1966, Alfred Yorston removed 520 bodies f ...

North Brunswick, New Jersey North Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 43,905, reflecting ...

in 1921.

Legacy

His wife, Sophia, remained in the city of New Brunswick after Littleton's death. When she died on March 6, 1871 at the age of 68, she named Rutgers College as her estate's residuary legatee.
Addresses at the inauguration of Austin Scott, Ph.D. as President of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J. Wednesday February 4th, 1891
'. (New Brunswick, Rutgers College, 1891), 44. Rutgers used the proceeds of this bequest to build

Kirkpatrick Chapel The Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick Memorial Chapel, known as Kirkpatrick Chapel, is the chapel to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and located on the university's main campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey in the United States. Kirkpatrick ...

in 1873. Today, this chapel is located on the historic Queen's Campus section of Rutgers's College Avenue Campus.

References

External links

Littleton Kirkpatrick
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Littleton 1797 births 1859 deaths New Jersey state court judges Mayors of New Brunswick, New Jersey New Jersey lawyers Princeton University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers