William Sanford Pennington (1757 – September 17, 1826) was a

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

, the sixth

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

Early life and military service

Born in 1757, in Newark,

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after t ...

, British America, His parents were Samuel Pennington (c. 1726-1791) and Mary Sandford (c. 1726-1805). He was the namesake of his grandfather William Sandford (III) and great-great-grandson of William Sandford. Pennington likely was trained as a

hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

and likely engaged in that profession during his early years. He joined the Continental Army during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. In 1777, he was promoted to sergeant in the Second Regiment of Artillery. He was promoted to second lieutenant in 1780. At the end of the war he was brevetted a captain by an Act of Congress. Pennington served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1797, 1798, and 1799, was elected to the New Jersey State Council (now the

New Jersey Legislative Council The New Jersey Legislative Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776 until it was replaced by the New Jersey Senate under the Constitution of 1844. History The Legislative Council replaced ...

) in 1801, and 1802.

Education and career

Pennington read law in 1802, with

Elias Boudinot Elias Boudinot ( ; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress (more accurately referred to as the Congress of the Confederation) and served as President ...

. He entered private practice in Newark,

from 1802 to 1816. He was county clerk for Essex County, New Jersey in 1803. He was the

for the District of New Jersey from 1803 to 1804. He was an associate justice of the

from 1804 to 1813. He was reporter for the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1806 to 1813. He was the 6th

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

from 1813 to 1815, elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

Federal judicial service

Pennington received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

on June 19, 1815, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Robert Morris. He was nominated to the same position by President Madison on January 8, 1816. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on January 9, 1816, and received his commission on January 16, 1816. His service terminated on September 17, 1826, due to his death in Newark.

Family

Pennington was the son of Mary Sanford and Samuel Penningston. He married Phoebe Wheeler around 1786. They had ten children including William Pennington (1796–1862) who became

and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. After the death of his wife in 1804, he married Elizabeth Pierson (c. 1765–1840) on July 13, 1805.

Membership

Pennington joined other New Jersey officers in becoming a founding member of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey.

Legacy

Pennington's papers are archived with the

New Jersey Historical Society The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition spac ...

in Newark. Pennington, New Jersey is named for Pennington.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, William Sanford 1757 births 1826 deaths Continental Army officers from New Jersey United States Attorneys for the District of New Jersey Governors of New Jersey Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey United States federal judges appointed by James Madison 19th-century American judges Members of the New Jersey Legislative Council Members of the New Jersey General Assembly American people of English descent Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey New Jersey Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians