Samuel Jones (chancellor)

For other people named Samuel Jones, see Samuel Jones (disambiguation).

Samuel Jones (May 26, 1769 in New York City – August 9, 1853 in Cold Spring Harbor, New York) was an American lawyer and politician.

He was the son of Samuel Jones (1734–1819). He graduated from Columbia University in 1790. He then studied law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar.

Political life

He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1812 to 1814. He was Recorder of New York City from 1823 to 1824. He was Chancellor of the State from 1826 to 1828. Between 1828 and 1847 he was the Chief Justice of the New York City Superior Court. After the reorganization of the judicial system in the state, following the adoption of the Constitution of 1846, he was elected in 1847 a justice of the New York State Supreme Court in the First Judicial District, and he remained in that office until 1849. Representing the Supreme Court, First Judicial District, he was an ex officio member of the first New York Court of Appeals. Examples of his work may be found in Corning v McCullough (1 NY 47), involving a suit against a stockholder of a corporation, Ruckman v Pitcher (1 NY 392), an action to recover money deposited on an illegal wager, and Brewster v Striker (2 NY 19), concerning the legal interest that could pass by sale under judgment and execution. Although then 80 years old, he returned to legal practice in 1849. The term "Father of the New York Bar," which first pertained to his father, also applied to him.

Sources

• [1] Bio at Court History
• [2] History of the City Superior Court, in NYT on August 13, 1890