Pierpont Edwards (April 8, 1750 – April 5, 1826) 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 ...
and 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 District of Connecticut
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...
.
Education and career
Born on April 8, 1750, in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
,
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...
,
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 ...
,
Edwards graduated from the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
) in 1768.
[ He entered private practice in ]New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, Connecticut Colony
The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...
, 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 Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
from July 4, 1776) starting in 1771.[ 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 ...
during the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.[ He was a member of the ]Connecticut House of Representatives
The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...
in 1777, from 1784 to 1785, and from 1787 to 1790,[ serving as Speaker during his last two years.] He 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 ...
(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 1787 to 1788.[ He was a member of the Connecticut 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 ...
in 1788.[ He resumed private practice in New Haven from 1790 to 1806.][
]
Federal judicial service
Edwards was nominated by President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
on February 21, 1806, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...
vacated by Judge Richard Law.[ 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 February 24, 1806, and received his commission the same day.[ His service terminated on April 5, 1826, due to his death in ]Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
, Connecticut.[ He was interred at ]Grove Street Cemetery
Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the ...
in New Haven.
Other service
Edwards was a member of the constitutional convention which framed Connecticut's constitution of 1818.[
]
Honor
Pierpont Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
is named for him.Ashtabula County, Ohio
Ashtabula County, 2007. Accessed 2007-05-28.
Family
Edwards was the youngest child of theologian Jonathan Edwards.[ His son, Henry W. Edwards, was ]Governor of Connecticut
The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticu ...
and his daughter, Harriett Pierpont Edwards, was married to inventor Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South.
Although Whitney hi ...
. [
]
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Pierpont
1750 births
1826 deaths
18th-century American politicians
19th-century American judges
American people of English descent
Burials at Grove Street Cemetery
Continental Army soldiers
Continental Congressmen from Connecticut
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Lawyers from Bridgeport, Connecticut
Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut
People of colonial Massachusetts
Politicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut
Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut
Politicians from Northampton, Massachusetts
Princeton University alumni
Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives
United States Attorneys for the District of Connecticut
United States federal judges appointed by Thomas Jefferson