Paul Mumford (March 5, 1734 – July 20, 1805) was an American politician and lawyer. Between 1803 and 1805 he was lieutenant governor of the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Career

Mumford grew up during the British colonial era. In 1754 he graduated from what would later become

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. After a subsequent law degree, he settled in Newport. He joined the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

in the early 1770s. He became 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 ...

in 1774 but had to flee to Barrington, Massachusetts, before the advancing British troops. There he was a member of a convention of the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

states at Springfield, Massachusetts in 1777 to discuss the defence of Rhode Island and the currency issue. Between 1777 and 1781 Mumford served as a judge in various courts in his home state. Then he was chief justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the Supreme court, court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by ...

from May 1781 to June 1785 and again from May 1786 to June 1788. From 1779 to 1781 he was again a member of the state House of Representatives. Between 1801 and 1803 he was a member of the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. In 1803 Mumford was elected lieutenant governor of Rhode Island alongside Arthur Fenner. He held this office between 1803 and 1805. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate. He died on July 20, 1805 leaving the lieutenant governorship vacant. After Fenner's death on October 15, 1805, his successor as acting governor was President Pro Tempore of the State Senate, Henry Smith.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
* Lieutenant Governors of Rhode Island 1734 births 1805 deaths 18th-century American judges Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island Rhode Island Democratic-Republicans {{RhodeIsland-stub