Law Schools in Connecticut, 1782-1843: The Proprietors
Engraving by Peter Maverick, 1820, based on a portrait by George Catlin. Reproduced courtesy of the Litchfield Historical Society.
Tapping Reeve (1744-1823)
- B.A., Princeton, 1763, M.A., 1766.
- Read law in Hartford under Judge Jesse Root, later chief justice of Connecticut.
- Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court, 1798-1815, chief judge, 1815-1816.
- Author of The Law of Baron and Femme (1816) and A Treatise on the Law of Descents in the Several United States of America (1825).
James Gould (1770-1838)
- B.A., Yale, 1791, LL. D, 1819.
- Received his legal education at Litchfield Law School.
- Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1816-1818.
- Author of Principles of Pleading in Civil Actions (1832).
Oil on canvas, by Samuel L. Waldo. Reproduced courtesy of the Yale Law School.
Zephaniah Swift (1759-1823)
- B.A., Yale 1778, M.A. 1781, LL.D., 1815.
- Appears to have been self-educated as a lawyer.
- Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court, 1801-1806, chief justice 1806-1819; Connecticut State Assemblyman, 1787-1793, 1820-1822; representative, U.S. Congress, 1793-1797.
- Author of System of the Laws of the State of Connecticut (1795-1796) and Digest of the Laws of the State of Connecticut (1822-1823); compiler of Laws of the United States of America (1797), the first official digest of U.S. statutes.
Oil on canvas, by James Weiland, based on an engraving. Reproduced courtesy of the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch.
Sylvester Gilbert (1755-1846)
- B.A., Dartmouth, 1775.
- Read law in Hartford under Judge Jesse Root, later chief justice of Connecticut.
- State attorney for Tolland County, 1786–1807; chief judge of the Tolland county court and judge of the probate court 1807–1818, 1820-1825; Connecticut State Assemblyman 1780–1812, 1815-1816; representative, U.S. Congress, 1818-1819.
From “Journal or chronicle of Sylvester Gilbert.” Reproduced courtesy of the Connecticut State Library.
Seth P. Staples (1776-1861)
- B.A., Yale, 1797, M.A., 1801.
- Read law in New Haven under David Daggett.
- Practiced in New Haven, later New York City; Connecticut State Assemblyman (representing New Haven), 1814-1816.
Oil on canvas, by Jared Bradley Flagg. Reproduced courtesy of the Yale Law School.
Samuel J. Hitchcock (1786-1845)
- B.A., Yale, 1809, M.A. 1812, LL.D., 1842.
- Attended Litchfield, studied in New Haven with Staples.
- Judge of the New Haven County Court, 1838-1842; chief judge of the New Haven City Court, 1842-1844; mayor of New Haven, 1839-1841.
Oil on canvas, by Jared Bradley Flagg. Reproduced courtesy of the Yale Law School.
David Daggett (1764-1851)
- B.A., Yale, 1781, LL.D., 1826.
- Read law under Charles Chauncey, a distinguished New Haven lawyer.
- Connecticut State Assemblyman, 1791-1804, 1809-1813; U.S. Senator, 1813-1819; associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, 1826-1832, chief justice, 1832-1834; mayor of New Haven, 1828-1829.
Oil on canvas, by Ulysses Dow Tenney, after a portrait by Nathaniel Jocelyn. Reproduced courtesy of the Yale Law School.
– Notes by Michael von der Linn
“From Litchfield to Yale: Law Schools in Connecticut, 1782-1843,” curated by Michael von der Linn and Michael Widener, is on display through May 30, 2013, in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, Level L2, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School.
