Stephen Mix Mitchell (December 9, 1743died September 30, 1835) was an American lawyer, jurist, and statesman from

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the name ...

. He represented

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 ...

in the

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. ...

and the

U.S. 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 powe ...

and was chief justice of the state's Supreme Court.

Biography

Mitchell was born in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut on December 9, 1743 and was the son of James and Rebecca Mitchell. He pursued academic studies; graduated from Yale College in 1763, and served as tutor at Yale from 1766 to 1769 while he studied law at New Haven and with Jared Ingersoll. He was admitted to the bar in 1770 and commenced practice in Newton, Connecticut. He married Hannah Grant and they had eleven children, Donald Grant Mitchell, Stephen Mix Mitchell, Lewis Mitchell, Charles Mitchell, Rebecca Mitchell, Alfred Mitchell (father of

Donald Grant Mitchell Donald Grant Mitchell (April 12, 1822December 15, 1908) was an American essayist and novelist who usually wrote under the pen name Ik Marvel. Biography Mitchell, the grandson of politician and jurist Stephen Mix Mitchell, was born in Norwich, ...

), Walter Mitchell, Hannah Grant Mitchell, Harriet Mitchell, Elizabeth Mitchell Chester, and Julia Mitchell.

Career

Mitchell returned to Wethersfield in 1772 and continued the practice of law. He was a member of Connecticut state house of representatives from 1778 to 1784. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Connecticut from 1783 to 1788, and a member of Connecticut council of assistants from 1784 to 1792 (with the exception of 1786). He was also associate justice of the county court of Hartford County from 1779 to 1790, and presiding judge from 1790 to 1793. He was a member of the State convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1788. When

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...

died in 1793, Governor Huntington appointed Mitchell to the United States Senate, where he served from December 2, 1793, to March 3, 1795. He did not seek re-election in 1794, but returned home to accept a seat on the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in ...

beginning in 1795 until he was elevated to Chief Justice in 1807 and served there until his retirement to Wethersfield in 1814 when he became legally disqualified by age. In September 1807, he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Yale College. Mitchell was a presidential elector on the Federalist ticket in 1800 and a delegate to Connecticut state constitutional convention, 1818.

Death

Mitchell died in Wethersfield on September 30, 1835 (age 91 years, 295 days). He is interred at Wethersfield Cemetery, Wethersfield, Connecticut. He was the grandfather of author

References

External links

Mitchell's judicial history at Connecticut state library
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Stephen M. 1743 births 1835 deaths American people of Scottish descent Chief Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Connecticut Federalists Continental Congressmen from Connecticut Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) People from Wethersfield, Connecticut People of colonial Connecticut Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Connecticut Yale University alumni