Charles Herman Ruggles (February 10, 1789 – June 16, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

Early life

Ruggles was born on February 10, 1789, in New Milford,

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is a County (United States), county in northwestern Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield Count ...

. He was the son of Joseph Ruggles (1757–1834) and Mercy (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Warner) Ruggles (1761–1798). His brother David Ruggles was married to Sarah Colden, a great-granddaughter of

Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader Colden (7 February 1688 – 28 September 1776) was an Irish-born physician, scientist and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1760 to 1762 and again from 1763 to 1765. Early life Colden was born on 7 F ...

, the

colonial governor of New York The territory which would later become the state of New York was settled by European colonists as part of the New Netherland colony (parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware) under the command of the Dutch West India C ...

. He graduated from

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

in 1803, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and began practice in

Kingston, New York Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...

Career

He was a member from Sullivan and

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Counties of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in 1820. Ruggles was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the

17th United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, ...

, and served from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. He was Judge of the Second Circuit Court of New York from 1831 to 1846, and was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1846. On June 7, 1847, he was elected one of the first judges of the

.There Shall Be a Court of Appeals
/ref> On June 22, he drew a term of six years and a half, and took office on July 5. He became Chief Judge after the resignation of Greene C. Bronson in April 1851 and remained on this post until the end of 1853. In November 1853, Ruggles was re-elected to an eight-year term as an associate judge.State Biography
/ref> In June 1855, he fell ill and was absent from the Court's June and September terms.
at p.106, footnote 20 On August 20, 1855, he announced his resignation to take effect on October 20, 1855.

George F. Comstock George Franklin Comstock (August 24, 1811 – September 27, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1860 to 1861. Personal life Comstock was born on August 24, 1811, in Williamstown, N ...

was elected in November 1855 to fill the vacancy.

Personal life

After the early death of his brother David in 1837, Charles raised his nephew and David's son, George David Ruggles (1833–1904), an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who served as Adjutant General of the U.S. Army from 1893 to 1897. Ruggles died in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

, on June 16, 1865, and interred at Christ Church (Episcopal) Cemetery. In 1888, all remains at this burying ground were removed to

Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is a rural cemetery located in Poughkeepsie, New York and includes the gravesites of several notable figures. It also has a crematory. The forty-four acres of land used for the cemetery were purchased by Matthew Vas ...

References

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 301, 348 and 355; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

''Historical Society of the Courts of New York State'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggles, Charles Herman 1789 births 1865 deaths Litchfield Law School alumni People from New Milford, Connecticut Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals Members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Kingston, New York Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York New York (state) lawyers Burials at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

Sources