Elizur Goodrich (March 24, 1761 – November 1, 1849) was an eighteenth-century American lawyer and politician from

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 capita ...

. He served as a

United States representative 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 ...

from

and Collector of Customs. He was also a slave owner.

Biography

Elizur Goodrich diploma bachelor of arts Yale College 1752

Born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

in the Connecticut Colony, he was the son of Elizur Goodrich. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1779, was a tutor there from 1781 to 1783, and studied law. After his was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1783, he began the practice of law 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 134,023 ...

. He served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

from 1795 to 1802 and was its Clerk for six sessions and its Speaker for two. In the 1796 United States presidential election he was a Federalist

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

for President, supporting Federalist candidate

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

against

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

candidate

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

. He was elected to represent Connecticut At-Large to the Sixth and

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

Congresses, but only served in the Sixth Congress from March 4, 1799 to March 3, 1801 because President John Adams appointed him collector of customs for the Port of New Haven. After a short time he was removed from the office of collector by Adams' successor, President Thomas Jefferson. The discussion of this act elicited from Jefferson a letter in which he avowed his approval of removal for political opinions. Goodrich was elected to the Governor's Council in Connecticut in 1803, serving until 1818. He taught law at Yale from 1801 to 1810 and was

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

from 1802 to 1818. From 1803 to 1822 he was also

Mayor of New Haven This is a list of the Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut. Before 1826, the city's mayors did not have a fixed term of office; once elected, they held office indefinitely, at the pleasure of the Connecticut General Assembly. Beginning in 1826 the ma ...

. Goodrich was a member of the

Yale Corporation The Yale Corporation, officially The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Assembly of corporation The Corporation comprises 19 members: * Three ex officio An ''ex officio'' m ...

, the University's governing body, from 1809 to 1818 and was its Secretary from 1818 to 1846. Yale conferred the degree of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

on him in 1830. Goodrich died in New Haven on November 1, 1849, and is interred in Grove Street Cemetery.

Personal life

Goodrich's son, Chauncey Allen Goodrich, married

Noah Webster Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible ( Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...

's daughter. His brother, also named Chauncey Goodrich, was a member of the

United States 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 ...

. Goodrich's wife, Annie Willard Allen Goodrich, was the sister of John Allen, a

from

and a member of the

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

References

External links

* He is the second Elizur in this article.
The Political Graveyard:Goodrich, Elizur (1761–1849)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodrich, Elizur 1761 births 1849 deaths Connecticut state court judges Connecticut lawyers American legal scholars Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Yale College alumni Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut People of colonial Connecticut 19th-century American lawyers American slave owners