Henry Marchant

Henry Marchant
38th Attorney General of Rhode Island
In office 1771–1777
Governor	Joseph Wanton Nicholas Cooke
Preceded by	Oliver Arnold
Succeeded by	William Channing
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
In office 1790–1796
Appointed by	George Washington
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	Benjamin Bourne
Personal details
Born	April 9, 1741 Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Died	August 30, 1796 (aged 55) Newport, Rhode Island
Resting place	Common Burying Ground, Newport
Education	considerable, based on his committee positions and selection as Attorney General
Occupation	Deputy, Assistant, Attorney General

Henry Marchant (April 9, 1741 – August 30, 1796) was American lawyer from Newport, Rhode Island and United States federal judge. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1779, and was a signer of the Articles of Confederation for Rhode Island.

Biography

Born in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Marchant received an A.M. from the College of Philadelphia, now the University of Pennsylvania in 1762. He read law to enter the bar in 1767, and was in private practice in Newport, Rhode Island from 1767 to 1777. Marchant was the state attorney general of Rhode Island from 1771 to 1777. He returned to private practice while also farming, in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, from 1780 to 1784. Marchant was a Delegate to the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1784 to 1790.

On July 2, 1790, Marchant was nominated by President George Washington to be the first judge of the newly created United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Marchant was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 3, 1790, and received his commission the same day, serving until his death in 1796.

He was a member of Second Congregational Church of Newport. His farm, the Henry Marchant Farm, is located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

Marchant died in Newport, Rhode Island and is buried in the city's Common Burial Ground.

Notable case decisions

• West v. Barnes (1791), the first case appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Further reading

• Lovejoy, David S. "Henry Marchant and the Mistress of the World." William and Mary Quarterly 3d ser., 12 (July 1955): 375–98.

External links

• United States Congress. "Henry Marchant (id: M000125)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Henry Marchant at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.