Reuben H. Walworth

Reuben H. Walworth
New York Representative
In office 1821 – 1823
New York 4th Judicial District Judge
In office 1823 – 1828
New York Chancellor
In office 1828 – 1847
Preceded by	Samuel Jones
Succeeded by	Freeborn G. Jewett (as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals)
Constituency	New York
Born	October 26, 1788(1788-10-26) Bozrah, Connecticut
Died	November 27, 1867 (aged 79) Saratoga Springs, New York
Spouse(s)	Ellen Hardin Walworth
Children	Clarence Alphonsus Walworth Mansfield Tracy Walworth Ellen Hardin Walworth Renbena Hyde Walworth
Occupation	Law

Reuben Hyde Walworth (October 26, 1788 Bozrah, Connecticut — November 27, 1867 Saratoga Springs, New York) was an American jurist and politician.

He studied law at Troy, New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1809. He commenced the practice of law at Plattsburgh, New York. He was a United States Representative in the 17th Congress 1821-23, and in April of the latter year was appointed judge of the 4th judicial district of New York state, which office he held for five years. In 1828, Walworth was appointed chancellor of New York, and gained President John Tyler's attention because of his widely respected opinions on evidence, pleadings, civil procedure, and arbitration. Tyler nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States three times in 1844, but the nomination was always postponed due to Tyler's lack of support from both Whigs and Democrats. He lost his office when the New York Court of Chancery was abolished by the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1846. In 1848 he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of New York, but was defeated by Hamilton Fish. Although he never sat on its bench, Walworth was asked by the Supreme Court to serve as a special master in the important case of Pennsylvania v. Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company in 1850. He was buried at Greenridge Cemetery in Saratoga Springs.

He was for a long period president of the American Temperance Union. He was also vice-president of the Bible Society and the Tract Society. The University of Princeton gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1835. He was the author of Rules and Orders of the New York Court of Chancery (Albany, 1829; several revised eds.), and Hyde Genealogy (2 vols., 1864). His son Clarence converted to Catholicism and was a founding member of the Paulist Fathers.

Walworth County, Wisconsin was named for him.

References

• The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, Kermit L. Hall ed., New York, 1992.

Sources

• Reuben H. Walworth at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• [1] Political Graveyard
• [2] Court History