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John Bouvier (1787 – November 18, 1851), was a French-American
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...
and legal
lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...
, is known for his legal writings, particularly his ''Law Dictionary Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America and of the Several States of the American Union'' (1839). It is believed to be the first legal dictionary to be based on American law, and is still in publication. It has been frequently revised and republished, and was retitled ''
Bouvier's Law Dictionary ''Bouvier's Law Dictionary'' is a set consisting of two or three books with a long tradition in the United States legal community. The first edition was written by John Bouvier. John Bouvier (1787–1851) was born in Codognan, France, but came to ...
'' in 1897. Bouvier also published ''The Institutes of American Law'' (1851) and an edition of Matthew Bacon's ''Abridgment of the Law''.


Life

John Bouvier was born in 1787 in Codognan, France, in the department du Gard, to Jean Bouvier (1760–1803) and Marie Benezet (1760–1823). They were members of the
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
. John Bouvier was educated in Nimes. In 1802, Jean and Marie Bouvier, John Bouvier, and his brother Daniel emigrated to America and settled in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sin ...
. Bouvier's father died within a year of yellow fever, and his mother later returned to France. John Bouvier was apprenticed to age 21 to a Philadelphia Quaker, Benjamin Johnson, a printer and bookseller who had known the family while traveling in France. In 1808, John Bouvier began a printing business on Cypress Alley in west Philadelphia. In 1810, he married Elizabeth Widdifield (1789–1870), by whom he had one daughter, astronomical writer and cookbook author
Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson (1811–1870) was an American author of books on science, astronomy and cookery. Most of her works were published anonymously or under her maiden name. ''Bouvier's Familiar Astronomy'' "for the use of schools, fami ...
(1811–1870). Bouvier became a citizen of the United States in 1812. By 1814, Bouvier was living in
Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war resumption of westward migration. The Tradi ...
, where on Wednesday, November 9, 1814, he published the first issue of ''The American Telegraph''. In the weekly newspaper, he resolved to "discountenance factions and factious men" while following an editor's duty of "exposure and support of the truth". In 1818, Bouvier moved to
Uniontown, Pennsylvania Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...
where he joined with another periodical to publish ''The Genius of Liberty and American Telegraph''. He continued to be involved in its publication until July 18, 1820.


Legal career

While active as a printer and publisher, Bouvier began to study law, under the tutelage of Andrew Stewart. He was admitted to the bar in
Fayette County, Pennsylvania Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804. Its county seat is Uniontown. The county wa ...
in 1818. In 1822, he was admitted to serve as an attorney in the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
. In 1823, he moved back to Philadelphia. Bouvier was appointed Recorder of the City of Philadelphia in 1836, by Governor
Joseph Ritner Joseph Ritner (March 25, 1780 – October 16, 1869) was the eighth Governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. Elected Governor of Pennsylvania during the 1835 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, ...
, and became an associate justice of the court of criminal sessions of Philadelphia in 1838. He was best known, however, for his legal writings. Having himself experienced the difficulty of studying treatises based on British laws that no longer applied to the United States, Bouvier wrote his own American law dictionary, ''Law Dictionary Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America and of the Several States of the American Union'' (1839). He hoped that being "written entirely anew, and calculated to remedy those defects, twould be useful to the profession". It is believed to be the first legal dictionary to be based on American law. It was well received by bibliographer Samuel Austin Allibone and by other jurists including Chancellor James Kent of the
New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited ci ...
and Justice
Joseph Story Joseph Story (September 18, 1779 – September 10, 1845) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in '' Martin v. Hunter's Lessee'' and '' United State ...
of the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. Bouvier himself revised and published new editions in 1843 and 1848. After his death, it continued to be updated and published, and was retitled ''
Bouvier's Law Dictionary ''Bouvier's Law Dictionary'' is a set consisting of two or three books with a long tradition in the United States legal community. The first edition was written by John Bouvier. John Bouvier (1787–1851) was born in Codognan, France, but came to ...
'' by Francis Rawle in 1897. Bouvier also published an edition of Matthew Bacon's '' Abridgment of the Law'' (10 vols, 1842-1846), and a compendium of American law entitled ''The Institutes of American Law'' (4 vols, 1851) that outlined legal principles such as
bailment Bailment is a legal relationship in common law, where the owner transfers physical possession of personal property ("chattel") for a time, but retains ownership. The owner who surrenders custody to a property is called the "bailor" and the ind ...
,
contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
, and
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
. Bouvier died on November 18, 1851, a week after being "stricken with apoplexy" while working at his office. He is buried at
Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery i ...
in Philadelphia.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouvier, John 1787 births 1851 deaths American jurists Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) French emigrants to the United States Pennsylvania lawyers 19th-century American lawyers