Thomas Clayton

Thomas Clayton
United States Senator from Delaware
In office January 9, 1837 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	John M. Clayton
Succeeded by	Presley Spruance
In office January 8, 1824 – March 3, 1827
Preceded by	Caesar A. Rodney [1]
Succeeded by	Louis McLane
Chief Justice of Delaware
In office January 18, 1832 – January 9, 1837
Preceded by	Samuel M. Harrington
Succeeded by	John M. Clayton
United States Representative from Delaware (1st at-large)
In office March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817
Preceded by	Henry M. Ridgely
Succeeded by	Louis McLane
Born	July 1777 Cecil County, Maryland
Died	August 21, 1854 (aged 77) New Castle, Delaware
Political party	Federalist Whig
Spouse(s)	Jennette Macomb
Residence	Dover, Delaware
Alma mater	Newark Academy
Profession	lawyer
Religion	Presbyterian

Thomas Clayton (July 1777 – August 21, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician from Dover in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party and later the Whig Party. He served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Attorney General of Delaware, as Secretary of State of Delaware, as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, as U. S. Representative from Delaware, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware. In 1846 he was one of two members of the U.S. Senate to vote against declaring war on Mexico.

Early life and family

Clayton was born at Massey in Kent County, Maryland, son of the former Governor of Delaware, Dr. Joshua Clayton, and Rachael McCleary Clayton. It is said he was born while his mother was fleeing invading British troops on the way from their Elk River landing to the Battle of Brandywine. While the Clayton’s were natives of Kent County, Delaware, Rachael McCleary was the niece and adopted daughter of Richard Bassett, the aristocratic heir to the expansive Bohemia Manor estates. The family lived at Bohemia Manor and through this connection, Joshua Clayton later acquired his homestead from these estates, in Pencader Hundred, New Castle County.

Thomas Clayton graduated from the Newark Academy, now the University of Delaware, studied law under Nicholas Ridgely in Dover, Delaware, and began a law practice there in 1799. His wife's name was Jennette Macomb, they had four children, and belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He was the cousin of U.S. Senator John M. Clayton.

Professional and political career

While pursuing his practice of the law, Clayton began his public career as the clerk of the Delaware House of Representatives in 1800. He then served as a member of that body for 8 years, between the 1803 session and the 1814 session. He was elected to the Delaware Senate for the 1808 session, but resigned to become the Delaware Secretary of State for 2 years. Subsequently, he was appointed the Delaware Attorney General and served in that office from 1810 until 1815.

In 1814 Clayton was elected as a Federalist to one of two at-large seats Delaware had in the U.S. House of Representatives, and served one term there, from March 4, 1815 until March 3, 1817. While he was in Congress, it was proposed that the compensation given U.S. Representatives be increased $6 a day to $1,500 a year. Clayton supported the change, but it became very controversial, and his support of it caused him to lose the nomination of the Federalist Party to Louis McLane, beginning a long rivalry between the two men.

Clayton narrowly failed in an attempt to return to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1818 election, but was returned to the Delaware Senate again in 1821. Then, when Caesar A. Rodney resigned as U.S. Senator from Delaware, the General Assembly elected him to serve out the term, from January 8, 1824 to March 3, 1827. This was the time when the old party system of Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans was giving way to the Jacksonian Democrats, and those opposed to Jackson. Clayton, his family, and much of the old Federalist following in Delaware, aligned themselves with John Quincy Adams, and those who would later become Whigs.

After his term in the U.S. Senate ended, Clayton was appointed Chief Justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas in 1828. This court ceased to exist with the new Delaware Constitution of 1831, and Clayton was appointed Chief Justice of the new Delaware Superior Court in 1832. In 1833, Chief Justice Clayton became one of the initial trustees of Newark College in Newark, Delaware, which would later become the University of Delaware.

In 1837, Clayton's cousin, U.S. Senator John M. Clayton, resigned his office. Thomas Clayton was once again elected to the U.S. Senate to finish the term. After it ended, he was reelected in 1841 and served from January 9, 1837 to March 3, 1847. During this second period of service in the Senate, Clayton was at various times the Chairman of the Committee on Printing and a member of the Committee of Revolutionary Claims.

Death and legacy

Clayton died of pneumonia at his retirement home at New Castle and is buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery, which is at Dover, on the grounds of the Delaware State Museum.

"A handsome man with polished manners, he was a stickler for dignity, decorum and punctuality at court session, and once ordered himself fined $10 for being 10 minutes late in appearing in court." ^[2]

Thomas Scharf comments: “Chief Justice Clayton was profoundly versed in the principles of the law. He had a marvelous skill in perceiving the vital points of a case, largely due to his almost intuitive grasp of fundamental principles. He was prompt in deciding the merits of an issue and felicitous in the precision with which he formulated facts and conclusions. His words were few but masterly in force and point. Judge Clayton was eminently impartial in his judicial capacity. Neither distinction of the person nor relationships swayed his judgments. With respect to the lawyers at the Bar, he made no difference in the administration of rules between the eminent John M. Clayton and his own son who was a practitioner at the same bar. He meted out to all the same even-handed justice, and required of all the same respectful regard for the law and for decorum.” ^[3]

Almanac

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October. Members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. State Senators had a three year term and State Representatives had a one year term. The Secretary of State and Attorney General were appointed by the Governor and took office on the third Tuesday of January for a five year term. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and have a two year term.

The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who also took office March 4th, but for a six year term. In this case, he was initially completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the resignation of Caesar A. Rodney. However, the General Assembly failed to fill the position for nearly a year.

Notes

1. ^ this seat was vacant from January 29, 1823 until January 8, 1824.
2. ^ Wilson, W. Emerson (1969). Forgotten Heroes of Delaware. Cambridge, MA: Deltos Publishing Company. 
3. ^ Scharf, John Thomas. History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols.. 
4. ^ He was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Caesar A. Rodney in the preceding Congress. There was a vacancy in this class from January 29, 1823 until January 8, 1824.
5. ^ He was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John M. Clayton.
6. ^ Clayton was Attorney General of Delaware during the 1811, 1813 and 1814 General Assembly sessions, and while there was no prohibition to holding both offices, there were many Claytons in Kent County, and it seems a reasonable possibility that the person in the General Assembly may have been another relative with the same name.

References

• Conrad, Henry C. (1908). History of the State of Delaware, 3 vols.. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company. 
• Martin, Roger A. (2003). Delawareans in Congress. Middletown, DE: Roger A. Martin. ISBN 0-924117-26-5. 
• Martin, Roger A. (1995). Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, DE: Roger A. Martin. 
• Munroe, John A. (1954). Federalist Delaware 1775-1815. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University. 
• Scharf, John Thomas (1888). History of Delaware 1609-1888. 2 vols. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co. 
• Wilson, W. Emerson (1969). Forgotten Heroes of Delaware. Cambridge, MA: Deltos Publishing Company. 

External links

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Delaware’s Members of Congress
• Find a Grave
• The Political Graveyard

Places with more information

• Delaware Historical Society; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
• University of Delaware; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965