Andrew Kirkpatrick

Who was Andrew Kirkpatrick?

Andrew Kirkpatrick was a United States federal judge.

Born in Washington, D.C., Kirkpatrick was the name after his grandfather, who had been a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. The younger Kirkpatrick studied at Rutgers College from 1860-1862 before receiving a B.A. from Union College in 1863 and read law to enter the bar in 1866. He was in private practice in Newark, New Jersey from 1866 to 1885, and was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas for Essex County, New Jersey from 1885 to 1896.

On November 20, 1896, Kirkpatrick received a recess appointment from President Grover Cleveland to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Edward T. Green. Formally nominated on December 8, 1896, Kirkpatrick was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 15, 1896, and received his commission the same day. He served until his death, in Newark.