Alexander Caldwell (Virginia judge)
Alexander Caldwell | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia | |
| In office October 28, 1825 – April 8, 1839 | |
| Appointed by | John Quincy Adams |
| Preceded by | Philip C. Pendleton |
| Succeeded by | Isaac S. Pennybacker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Caldwell November 1, 1774 Province of New Jersey, British America |
| Died | April 8, 1839 (aged 64) Wheeling, Virginia |
| Education | read law |
Alexander Caldwell (November 1, 1774 – April 8, 1839) was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
Education and career
Born on November 1, 1774, in the Province of New Jersey, British America,[1] Caldwell read law in 1816.[1] He entered private practice in Westville, Pennsylvania from 1816 to 1818.[1] He continued private practice in the Missouri Territory from 1818 to 1820, and in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) from 1820 to 1826.[1]
Federal judicial service
Caldwell received a recess appointment from President John Quincy Adams on October 28, 1825, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia vacated by Judge Phillip C. Pendleton.[1] He was nominated to the same position by President Adams on December 13, 1825.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 3, 1826, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on April 8, 1839, due to his death in Wheeling, Virginia.[1] He was succeeded by Judge Isaac S. Pennybacker.[1]
Family
Caldwell was the son of James Caldwell (1724–1804) and his wife Elizabeth. Irish gentry whose name reflected Castle Caldwell established in Ulster Plantation a century earlier, they had emigrated with nine children to Maryland in 1769 and then moved to what became Wheeling in what was then Virginia in 1772. During their sea voyage, Elizabeth Caldwell gave birth to Samuel Caldwell, and in Baltimore she bore James Caldwell (1770–1838, later of St. Clairsville, Ohio and President of the Merchants' and ^Mechanics' Bank of Wheeling, as well as United States Representative from Ohio), then Susana Caldwell (b. 1772), this Alexander Caldwell, and Joseph Caldwell (b. 1777). James Caldwell the elder became a Virginia justice of the peace and militia leader in the developing rural area, and his son/Alexander's brother John Caldwell helped erect Fort Henry to defend the new settlement against Native American raiders.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Alexander Caldwell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Miller, Thomas Condit; Maxwell, Hu (12 March 2018). "West Virginia and its people". New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co. – via Internet Archive.
Sources
- Alexander Caldwell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1774 births
- 1839 deaths
- Virginia lawyers
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- United States federal judges appointed by John Quincy Adams
- 19th-century American judges
- Politicians from Wheeling, West Virginia
- United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
- Lawyers from Wheeling, West Virginia
- Caldwell family
- Judges who died in office