John Gilchrist

Who was John Gilchrist?

John James Gilchrist was a judge of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature, and later of the United States Court of Claims.

Gilchrist graduated from Harvard College in 1828, and from Harvard Law School in 1831. He was in private practice in Charlestown, New Hampshire, from 1831 to 1836. In 1836, he served as a register of probate and a county solicitor in New Hampshire, and he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1836 to 1837. In 1840, he was named as an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature, and in 1848 he was elevated to Chief Judge of that court, a position that he held until 1855.

Gilchrist was nominated by President Franklin Pierce to a seat on the newly formed Court of Claims, receiving his commission on March 3, 1855. He served as presiding judge throughout his service on the court, ending with his death in 1858.