Samuel T. Douglass (February 14, 1814 – March 5, 1898) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.Biography: Samuel Douglass
Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.

Early life and education

Douglass was born in Wallingford, Vermont, on February 28, 1814. His family moved to

Fredonia, New York Fredonia is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 9,871 as of the 2020 census. Fredonia is in the town of Pomfret south of Lake Erie. The village is the home of the State University of New York at Fredonia ( ...

, and Douglass was educated at

Fredonia Academy The State University of New York at Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York, United States. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the sixty-sixth-oldest institute of ...

there. He studied law in the office of James Mullet (who was judge of the

Supreme Court of New York The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

Career

Douglas came to Detroit in 1837, and was admitted to the bar the same year. With the exception for a brief time in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

, Douglass spent the next fifty years in Detroit as a practicing lawyer and judge. In 1849, Douglass became

law partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as "equity partners". The ...

s with James V. Campbell, also later a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He married Campbell's sister, Elizabeth, in 1856. In 1845, Douglass was appointed reporter of decisions of the Michigan Supreme Court; he served in that position until resigning in 1849. Douglass was reporter when the first two volumes of the ''Michigan Reports'' were published, covering 1843 to 1847. Douglass served as judge of the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Michigan Supreme Court from 1851 until 1857. A separate Michigan Supreme Court was created in 1857, and Douglass was nominated for justice by the

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. The Democrats were an extreme minority in the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

at the time, however, and James V. Campbell, Douglass' former law partner and brother-in-law, was appointed instead. In May 1857, Douglass resigned the circuit judgeship and returned to private practice. Douglass was a lover of nature and an amateur naturalist. In 1860 he built a home and farm on Grosse Ile in the Detroit River. Douglass took part in several trips to explore the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at a time when the area remained remote and almost entirely unsettled. Douglass died on the afternoon of March 5, 1898.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglass, Samuel T. 1814 births 1898 deaths People from Wayne County, Michigan People from Fredonia, New York People from Wallingford, Vermont Michigan lawyers New York (state) lawyers Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers