Richard Bassett (April 2, 1745 – September 15, 1815) was an American politician, attorney, slave owner and later abolitionist, veteran of 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 Revolut ...

, attorney, signer of 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 It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789.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 ...

, and one of the Founding Fathers of America. He also served as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from Delaware, chief justice of the

Delaware Court of Common Pleas The Delaware Court of Common Pleas are state courts of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Delaware Court of Common Pleas are trial courts and inferior courts of limited jurisdiction. It has criminal jurisdiction throughout the state over all mis ...

governor of Delaware A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

and a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit.

Education and career

RICHARD BASSETT HOUSE, DOVER, KENT COUNTY, DELAWARE

Born on April 2, 1745, in

Cecil County Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was ...

, Province of Maryland,

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 ...

, Bassett pursued preparatory studies, then

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 was admitted to the bar and practiced law in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. By concentrating on agricultural pursuits as well as religious and charitable concerns, he quickly established himself amongst the local gentry and "developed a reputation for hospitality and philanthropy." He was a member of the Delaware constitutional conventions of 1776 and 1792. He was a member of the

Council of Safety In the American Revolution, committees of correspondence, committees of inspection (also known as committees of observation), and committees of safety were different local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government; they took control ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, Delaware from 1776 to 1786. He served in the Delaware State Militia as a company captain of the Dover Light Horse Regiment from 1777 to 1781. He was a member of the Delaware Legislative Council (now the

Delaware Senate The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at wh ...

) in 1782. He was a member of the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

in 1786. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and was a signer of the

. He was a member of the Delaware convention which ratified the

in 1787. He was in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware from 1787 to 1789. Bassett was elected to 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 ...

from Delaware and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793, first as a member of the

Anti-Administration Party The Anti-Administration Party was an informal political faction in the United States led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson that opposed policies of then Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in the first term of US President George ...

and later as a member of the

Pro-Administration Party The Federalist Party was a conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. Defeated by the Jeffersonian Republi ...

. Bassett was chief justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas from 1793 to 1799. He was governor of Delaware from 1799 to 1801. Bassett was nominated by President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

on February 18, 1801, to the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.

Later life and death

Close Up of Plaque on Richard Bassett grave

After leaving the federal bench, Bassett became a planter in

. While he was a slave owner, after converting to Methodism in the 1780s, he freed his slaves and campaigned for the state of Delaware to abolish slavery. He died on September 15, 1815, on his estate ''Bohemia Manor'' in Cecil County.Some sources give his place of death as Kent County, Delaware. He was initially interred in Cecil County, and in 1865 his remains were re-interred in

Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres. History The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought ...

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

Legacy

Bassett was the grandfather of

Richard H. Bayard Richard Henry Bayard (September 26, 1796 – March 4, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party, who served as the first Mayor of Wilmington, Chief Justice of the Delaware Superior ...

and

James A. Bayard Jr. James Asheton Bayard Jr. (November 15, 1799 – June 13, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life Bayard was born in Wilmington, ...

, both United States senators from Delaware. Bassett Street in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, is named in Bassett's honor. Bassettown, now

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

, was named in Bassett's honor by his cousin David Hoge.

Note

References

Sources

* * * * * *

Images

National Portrait Gallery
''portrait courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.''

External links

*
Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States

Judges of the United States Courts

in ''Soldier-Statesman of the Constitution'' at the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Richard 1745 births 1815 deaths People from Cecil County, Maryland People of colonial Maryland People of colonial Delaware Signers of the United States Constitution Anti-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Delaware Federalists Governors of Delaware Federalist Party state governors of the United States Members of the Delaware House of Representatives Delaware state senators Delaware Court of Common Pleas judges Judges of the United States circuit courts United States federal judges appointed by John Adams Delaware lawyers American slave owners People from Dover, Delaware 19th-century American politicians 18th-century American judges 19th-century American judges Delaware militiamen in the American Revolution Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery United States senators who owned slaves