Thomas Baltzell (July 11, 1804 – January 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who was the first popularly elected chief justice of the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

. Baltzell was also a Florida Territory Senator and a

Florida State Representative The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

as well as a Florida Constitutional Convention delegate for two of the state's Constitutions.

Early life

Baltzell was born in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

and studied law with

Kentucky Attorney General The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), the state's chief law enforcement officer (K ...

Solomon P. Sharp Solomon Porcius Sharp (August 22, 1787 – November 7, 1825) was an American lawyer and politician, serving as attorney general of Kentucky and a member of the United States Congress and the Kentucky General Assembly. His murder by Jereboam ...

, attaining his license at age 20. Following his friend

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the state of Florida 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 Florida ...

William Pope Duval William Pope Duval (September 4, 1784 – March 19, 1854) was the first civilian governor of the Florida Territory, succeeding Andrew Jackson, who had been a military governor. In his twelve-year governorship, from 1822 to 1834, he divided Florid ...

, Baltzell moved to Florida in 1825. Baltzell was well known to have a fiery temper which surfaced in October 1832 when he and James Westcott engaged in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

near the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

border. Baltzell was uninjured while Westcott was only slightly injured and eventually became a

U.S. Senator 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 ...

Political career

Soon after his duel with Westcott, Baltzell was elected to represent Jackson County on the

Florida Territorial Legislative Council The Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, often referred to as the Florida Territorial Council or Florida Territorial Legislative Council, was the legislative body governing the American territory of Florida (Florida Territory) before st ...

. In 1834, Governor Duval appointed Baltzell as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Escambia County. That year he married Harriet King. The couple had six children by 1850. In 1838, Baltzell served on the Constitutional Convention and signed the 1838 Florida Constitution. Later that year, he ran for the territory delegation to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

on an anti-

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

stance but lost to Charles Downing. Baltzell was on the

Tallahassee City Commission Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

from 1840 to 1842 and served on the Florida Territorial Senate from 1844 to 1846.

Judicial career

Florida became a state in 1845 and the legislature elected Baltzell as the middle circuit Supreme Court judge. He was on the bench from the court's first session in January 1846 until 1850. He then won the first popular elections for Chief Justice beginning his term in 1854. In 1859, Chief Justice Baltzell's temper became noteworthy when he ordered the arrest of fellow Justice Bird M. Pearson when Pearson was tardy for the session. When Pearson arrived, Baltzell was overruled.Justice Thomas Baltzell
biography at

web site. With elections approaching, Baltzell became embroiled in a public feud with another justice, Charles H. DuPont, over a lower-court judge. In the end, DuPont won the 1859 election ending Baltzell's time on the Supreme Court.

Return to polital office

With the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

raging, Baltzell recovered from his Supreme Court loss and won a seat in the Florida House of Representatives from 1862 to 1863. After the war, Baltzell was a member of the 1865 Florida Constitutional Convention. The Constitution was ineffective and

Radical Reconstruction The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

ensued. Florida was readmitted to the United States in 1868, two years after Baltzell's death in Tallahassee. One of his children George L. Baltzell held various public offices.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltzell, Thomas 1804 births 1866 deaths Members of the Florida Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Frankfort, Kentucky American duellists Kentucky lawyers Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers