Thomas Todd
Thomas Todd | |
---|---|
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
In office May 4, 1807 – February 7, 1826 | |
Nominated by | Thomas Jefferson |
Preceded by | Seat established |
Succeeded by | Robert Trimble |
Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals | |
In office December 13, 1806 – March 3, 1807 | |
Preceded by | George Muter |
Succeeded by | Felix Grundy |
Associate Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals | |
In office December 19, 1801 – December 13, 1806 | |
Preceded by | Seat established |
Succeeded by | Robert Trimble |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Lincoln County | |
In office October 17, 1791 – December 20, 1791 Serving with John Logan | |
Preceded by | Baker Ewing |
Succeeded by | position abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Virginia, British America | January 23, 1765
Died | February 7, 1826 Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. | (aged 61)
Resting place | Frankfort Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Harris Lucy Payne (1812–1826) |
Education | Washington and Lee University (BA) |
Thomas Todd (January 23, 1765 – February 7, 1826) was an
Early life and education
Todd was born to the former Elizabeth Richards and her husband, Richard Todd in
At the age of 16, Todd joined the
Todd then became a tutor at Liberty Hall Academy (which later became
Career in Kentucky
Todd was admitted to the Kentucky
Todd was also the first clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (on which he would in 1801 begin sit as one of its judges and beginning in 1806 as its chief judge).[6] Todd also owned slaves, twenty-six slaves at the time of the 1820 census.[8]
Personal life
Todd married twice, although genealogists disagree as to some of his offspring. He first married Elizabeth Harris in 1788. She bore had three sons of whom the first, Harry Innes Todd died as an infant, but Charles Stewart Todd (1791–1871) continued the family's legal, military and public service traditions and John Harris Todd (1795–1824) also became a lawyer. Their daughters, Ann Maria (1801–1862) and Elizabeth Frances (1808–1892) would marry prominent lawyers.[9][10]
On March 29, 1812, after more than a year of mourning his first wife, Todd married Lucy Payne Washington, the youngest sister of Dolley Madison[1] and the widow of Major George Steptoe Washington, who was a nephew of President George Washington. It is believed to be the first wedding held in the White House.[11] Genealogists agree that their son James Madison Todd (1817–1897) survived and married, and that their daughter was named Madisonia, but disagree as to whether the other son was named William J. or Thomas Johnston Todd.[12]
Supreme Court justice
On February 28, 1807, President Thomas Jefferson nominated Todd as an associate justice of the Supreme Court,[13] after the number of seats on the Court was expanded from six to seven by Congress.[14] The United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 2, 1807,[13] and Todd was sworn into office on May 4, 1807.[15]
Todd served under Chief Justice John Marshall. As justice responsible for the circuit including Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, Todd convened court twice a year each in Nashville, Frankfort and Chillicothe, and spent the six winter months in Washington, D.C.[6]
He is one of 19 Presbyterians to have served on the Court.[16] He served on the Court until February 7, 1826.[15]
Court opinions
Politically, Todd was a
Todd's first reported opinion was a
Todd's only Court opinion that did not involve land law was his last. In Riggs v. Taylor, the court made the important procedural ruling, now taken for granted, that if a party intends to use a document as evidence, then the original must be produced. However, if the original is in the possession of the other party to the suit, and that party refuses to produce it, or if the original is lost or destroyed, then secondary evidence will be admitted.
Death, estate and legacy
Todd died in Frankfort, Kentucky on February 7, 1826, at the age of 61. He was initially buried in the Innes
At the time of his death, Todd owned substantial real property, particularly in Frankfort. He was a charter member of the
Todd's papers are kept in three locations:
- Cincinnati, Ohio.
- The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky.
- University of Kentucky, Margaret I. King Library, Lexington, Kentucky.[19]
During World War II the Liberty ship SS Thomas Todd was built in Brunswick, Georgia, and named in his honor.[20]
Memberships and other honors
Todd became a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1820.[21] He was also a Freemason.[22]
See also
- List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Marshall Court
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Marshall Court
References
- ^ ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
- ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner (ed.) (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, vol. 2, p. 279. Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
- ^ Appleton's Cyclopedia, vol 6, p. 127
- ^ Tyler pp. 279-180
- ^ Appleton's
- ^ a b c Tyler p. 280
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 184
- ^ 1820 United States Census for Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, p. 2 of 9, available on ancestry.com
- ^ no ref cite for daughter Millicent (c. 1789–1810 who may have died in childbirth or never married
- ISBN 0-8063-1744-2) p.288 includes Harry Innes Todd as firstborn son
- ^ "White House History | White House Facts". Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ Dorman p. 289
- ^ a b "Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present)". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Landmark Legislation: Seventh Circuit". Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ a b "Justices 1789 to Present". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Religion of the Supreme Court". www.adherents.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2001.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ The Kentucky Encyclopedia Archived 2017-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, p. 888
- United States Court of Appeals.
- U.S. Court of Appeals.
- ISBN 978-1476617541. Archivedfrom the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "MemberListT". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
- ^ "TODAY in Masonic History: Thomas Todd Passes Away". masonrytoday.com. February 7, 2016. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
Sources
- Oyez Project, Supreme Court Media, Thomas Todd
- The Adherents, Religious Affiliation of Supreme Court Justices.
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/histBio.html#todd
- Biography and Bibliography, Thomas Todd, 6th Circuit United States Court of Appeals.
- Thomas Todd at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Further reading
- Abraham, Henry J. (1992). Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506557-3.
- Cushman, Clare (2001). The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995 (2nd ed.). (Supreme Court Historical Society, Congressional Quarterly Books). ISBN 1-56802-126-7.
- Flanders, Henry. The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1874 at Google Books.
- Frank, John P. (1995). Friedman, Leon; Israel, Fred L. (eds.). The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 0-7910-1377-4.
- Hall, Kermit L., ed. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505835-6.
- Martin, Fenton S.; Goehlert, Robert U. (1990). The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Books. ISBN 0-87187-554-3.
- Urofsky, Melvin I. (1994). The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Garland Publishing. pp. 590. ISBN 0-8153-1176-1.
- White, G. Edward. The Marshall Court & Cultural Change, 1815–35. Published in an abridged edition, 1991.