George Tompkins (March 20, 1780 – April 7, 1846) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constituti ...

from 1824 to 1845.William Van Ness Bay, ''Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri'' (1878), pp. 30–36.

Early life

Born in

Caroline County, Virginia Caroline County is a United States county located in the eastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The northern boundary of the county borders on the Rappahannock River, notably at the historic town of Port Royal. The Caroline county se ...

, the second youngest of thirteen children, Tompkins was of English descent, his ancestors having been among the early settlers of Virginia. His family "owned large tracts of land and many slaves, and were largely engaged in the cultivation of tobacco". His parents were Benjamin Tompkins and Elizabeth Goodloe. Sometime around the age of seventeen or eighteen, he left Virginia and lived in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and in

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of sec ...

, for several years. He taught school and also studied law in his free time. He did not stay in Kentucky long before moving to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. In Missouri, Tompkins taught at the first English school in St. Louis, where most inhabitants spoke French.

Law and judicial career

He settled in Franklin,

Howard County, Missouri Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri, with its southern border formed by the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,151. Its county seat is Fayette, Missouri, Fayette. Settled o ...

, in 1816, and opened a law practice. He was twice elected to the Territorial Legislature in St. Charles. In 1824, Tompkins was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court, where he remained until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. Tompkins' retirement came just a few years before the

Dred Scott Dred Scott ( – September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for the freedom of themselves and their two daughters, Eliza and Lizzie, in the '' Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case ...

case was brought before the Missouri Supreme Court. During his time as a judge, Tompkins expressed

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

views and, through about a dozen cases, established a precedent that since Missouri was a free state, if slaves were brought into the state, they should be freed. Despite this, the Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott in his case for freedom.

Later life and death

Upon retirement, Tompkins returned to his farm near

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

, where he died on April 7, 1846, at the age of 67.

References

1780 births 1846 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri People from Caroline County, Virginia People from Howard County, Missouri {{Missouri-state-judge-stub