List of federal judges appointed by Abraham Lincoln
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Following is a list of all Article III United States federal judges appointed by President Abraham Lincoln during his presidency.[1] In total Lincoln appointed 32 Article III federal judges, including 4 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, and 27 judges to the United States district courts. Lincoln appointed no judges to the United States circuit courts during his time in office.
In 1863, the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, which had existed since 1801, was abolished. The Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (now the United States District Court for the District of Columbia) was established in its place with 1 Chief Justice and 3 Associate Justices, all 4 positions being filled by Lincoln. These 4 positions are included in the 27 District Judges appointed by Lincoln.
Lincoln appointed 4 judges to the United States Court of Claims, an Article I tribunal. He later laterally reappointed 1 of those judges as Chief Justice of the same court.
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Salmon Portland Chase was Lincoln's choice to be Chief Justice of the United States.
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John Jay Jackson, Jr. was appointed to what was then the Western District of Virginia - which became the District of West Virginia. He remained on the bench until 1905.
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Appointed by Lincoln to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Henry Clay Caldwell was later elevated by President Benjamin Harrison to sit on the Eighth Circuit.
United States Supreme Court Justices
# | Justice | Seat | State | Former Justice | Nomination date |
Confirmation date |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Noah Haynes Swayne | 6 | Ohio | John McLean | January 21, 1862 | January 24, 1862 | January 24, 1862 | January 24, 1881 |
2 | Samuel Freeman Miller | 4 | Iowa | Peter Vivian Daniel | July 16, 1862 | July 16, 1862 | July 16, 1862 | October 13, 1890 |
3 | David Davis | 8 | Illinois | John Archibald Campbell | December 1, 1862 | December 8, 1862 | October 17, 1862[2] | March 4, 1877 |
4 | Stephen Johnson Field | 9 | California | Seat established | March 6, 1863 | March 10, 1863 | March 10, 1863 | December 1, 1897 |
5 | Salmon P. Chase | Chief | Ohio | Roger B. Taney | December 6, 1864 | December 6, 1864 | December 6, 1864 | May 7, 1873 |
District Courts
# | Judge | Court [Note 1] |
Nomination date |
Confirmation date |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Archibald Williams | D. Kan. | March 8, 1861 | March 12, 1861 | March 12, 1861 | September 21, 1863 |
2 | George Washington Lane | M.D. Ala. N.D. Ala. S.D. Ala. |
March 26, 1861 | March 28, 1861 | March 28, 1861 | November 12, 1863 |
3 | John Jay Jackson Jr. | W.D. Va. | July 26, 1861 | August 3, 1861 | August 3, 1861 | March 15, 1905[3] |
4 | Fletcher Mathews Haight | S.D. Cal. | August 5, 1861 | August 5, 1861 | August 5, 1861 | February 23, 1866 |
5 | Bland Ballard | D. Ky. | December 9, 1861 | January 22, 1862 | October 16, 1861[4] | July 29, 1879 |
6 | Philip Fraser | N.D. Fla. | June 14, 1862 | July 17, 1862 | July 17, 1862 | July 26, 1876 |
7 | Connally Findlay Trigg | E.D. Tenn. M.D. Tenn. W.D. Tenn. |
July 16, 1862 | July 17, 1862 | July 17, 1862 | April 25, 1880 April 25, 1880 June 14, 1878[5] |
8 | Caleb Blood Smith | D. Ind. | December 16, 1862 | December 22, 1862 | December 22, 1862 | January 7, 1864 |
9 | Richard Stockton Field | D.N.J. | January 14, 1863 | January 14, 1863 | January 14, 1863 | April 25, 1870 |
10 | David Kellogg Cartter | D.D.C. | March 10, 1863 | March 11, 1863 | March 11, 1863[6] | April 16, 1887 |
11 | George P. Fisher | D.D.C. | March 10, 1863 | March 11, 1863 | March 11, 1863[7] | May 1, 1870 |
12 | Abram B. Olin | D.D.C. | March 10, 1863 | March 11, 1863 | March 11, 1863[7] | January 13, 1879 |
13 | Solomon Lewis Withey | W.D. Mich. | March 10, 1863 | March 11, 1863 | March 11, 1863 | April 25, 1886 |
14 | Andrew Wylie | D.D.C. | January 5, 1864 | January 20, 1864 | March 18, 1863[8][7] | May 1, 1885 |
15 | John Curtiss Underwood | E.D. Va. | January 5, 1864 | January 25, 1864 | March 27, 1863[9] | December 7, 1873[3] |
16 | Edward Henry Durell | E.D. La. | February 8, 1864 | February 17, 1864 | May 20, 1863[10] | July 27, 1866[11] |
17 | Mark W. Delahay | D. Kan. | December 14, 1863 | March 15, 1864 | October 6, 1863[12] | December 12, 1873 |
18 | Thomas Jefferson Boynton | S.D. Fla. | January 5, 1864 | January 20, 1864 | October 19, 1863[8] | January 1, 1870 |
19 | Richard Busteed | M.D. Ala. N.D. Ala. S.D. Ala. |
January 5, 1864 | January 20, 1864 | November 17, 1863[8] | October 20, 1874 |
20 | Albert Smith White | D. Ind. | January 14, 1864 | January 18, 1864 | January 18, 1864 | September 4, 1864 |
21 | Henry Clay Caldwell | E.D. Ark. W.D. Ark. |
May 2, 1864 | May 28, 1864 | June 20, 1864 | March 13, 1890 March 3, 1871[13] |
22 | David McDonald | D. Ind. | December 12, 1864 | December 13, 1864 | December 13, 1864 | August 25, 1869 |
23 | J. Russell Bullock | D.R.I. | February 9, 1865 | February 11, 1865 | February 11, 1865 | September 15, 1869 |
24 | Charles L. Benedict | E.D.N.Y. | March 6, 1865 | March 9, 1865 | March 9, 1865 | January 1, 1897 |
25 | Arnold Krekel | W.D. Mo. | March 6, 1865 | March 9, 1865 | March 9, 1865 | June 9, 1888 |
26 | Alexander W. Baldwin | D. Nev. | March 10, 1865 | March 11, 1865 | March 11, 1865 | November 14, 1869 |
27 | John Lowell | D. Mass. | March 11, 1865 | March 11, 1865 | March 11, 1865 | January 9, 1879[14] |
Specialty courts (Article I)
United States Court of Claims
# | Judge | Nomination date |
Confirmation date |
Began active service |
Ended active service |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joseph Casey | July 9, 1861 | July 22, 1861 | May 23, 1861[15] | March 13, 1863[16] |
1.1 | Joseph Casey | March 12, 1863 | March 13, 1863 | March 13, 1863[17] | December 1, 1870 |
2 | Ebenezer Peck | March 6, 1863 | March 10, 1863 | March 10, 1863 | May 1, 1878 |
3 | David Wilmot | March 6, 1863 | March 7, 1863 | March 7, 1863 | March 16, 1868 |
4 | Charles C. Nott | February 21, 1865 | February 22, 1865 | February 22, 1865 | November 23, 1896[18] |
Notes
- Renominations
References
- General
- "Judges of the United States Courts". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Archived from the original on 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- Specific
- ^ All information on the names, terms of service, and details of appointment of federal judges is derived from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public-domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 1, 1862, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 8, 1862, and received commission on December 8, 1862.
- ^ a b Early in the course of the American Civil War, the western portion of Virginia rejected Virginia's secession from the United States, and itself seceded from Virginia. This area largely coincided with the existing Western District of Virginia. The portion of Virginia remaining loyal to the Union became the state of West Virginia, which was admitted as a state on June 20, 1863. On June 11, 1864, by 13 Stat. 124, the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia became the United States District Court for the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with what had previously been the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to again form a single United States District Court for the District of Virginia. John Jay Jackson, who had been appointed to the Western District of Virginia, was reassigned by operation of law to the newly formed District of West Virginia. At the same time, John Curtiss Underwood, who had been appointed to the Eastern District of Virginia, was reassigned by operation of law to the newly formed District of Virginia. On February 3, 1871, the District of Virginia was again subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts, and Underwood was reassigned to the Eastern District, until his death. On July 1, 1901, the District of West Virginia was subdivided into the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia and the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia; Jackson was reassigned to the Northern District, until his retirement.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 9, 1861, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 1862, and received commission on January 22, 1862.
- ^ Trigg was appointed to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee; after June 14, 1878, his service in the Western District was discontinued, though he served in the Eastern and Middle Districts until his death.
- ^ Appointed as Chief Justice of the court.
- ^ a b c Appointed as Associate Justice of the court.
- ^ a b c Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1864, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 1864, and received commission on January 20, 1864.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1864, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 25, 1864, and received commission on January 25, 1864.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on February 8, 1864, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 17, 1864, and received commission on February 17, 1864.
- ^ On July 27, 1866, the two Districts of Louisiana then existing were reunited into a single United States District Court for the District of Louisiana by 14 Stat. 300, and Durell was reassigned to this court by operation of law.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 14, 1863, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 15, 1864, and received commission on March 15, 1864.
- ^ Caldwell was appointed to both the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas; after March 3, 1871, his service in the Western District was discontinued, though he served in the Eastern District until March 13, 1890, when he was elevated to the United States Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit.
- ^ Elevated
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on July 9, 1861, confirmed by the United States Senate on July 22, 1861, and received commission on July 22, 1861.
- ^ Laterally appointed as Chief Justice of the same court on March 13, 1863.
- ^ Laterally appointed as Chief Justice after previously serving as Judge of the same court.
- ^ Laterally appointed Chief Justice of the same court on November 23, 1896.