Samuel Nelson

Politician

1792 – 1873

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Who was Samuel Nelson?

Samuel Nelson was an American attorney and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Born in Hebron, New York, Nelson attended Middlebury College in Vermont in 1813 and read law to be licensed to practice law in 1817. He entered private practice in Cortland, New York in 1817. Nelson married Pamela Woods in 1819. In 1825, after Pamela's death, he married Catharine Ann Russell. He had two children from his first marriage and six from his second. His fourth child with Catharine, Rensselaer Nelson, was the first United States District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota.

Nelson was a presidential elector in 1820, voting for James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins. Nelson was Postmaster of Cortland from 1820 to 1823.

He was Judge of the Sixth Circuit Court from 1823 to 1831; an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1831 to 1837; and Chief Justice from 1837 to 1845. He was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senator from New York in 1845.

On February 4, 1845, Nelson was nominated by President John Tyler to a seat as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States vacated by Smith Thompson. Nelson was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 14, 1845, and received his commission immediately. Nelson's confirmation in the last month of Tyler's presidency was a surprise. The unpopular Tyler had failed repeatedly to fill the vacancy left by Thompson, as the Whig-controlled Senate rejected his nominations of John C. Spencer, Reuben Walworth, Edward King and John M. Read. The Whigs found Nelson acceptable because, although he was a Democrat, he had a reputation as a careful and uncontroversial jurist.

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Born
Nov 10, 1792
Hebron
Spouses
Children
Religion
  • Protestantism
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • Middlebury College
Died
Dec 13, 1873
Cooperstown

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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