Fletcher Mathews Haight (November 28, 1799 – February 23, 1866) was a

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of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ap ...

Education and career

Haight was born in Elmira,

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, on November 28, 1799, to General Samuel S. Haight and Sarah Mathews. Sarah was the daughter of James Mathews of

Orange County, New York Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...

. The Mathews family, which included Haight's great uncles such as namesake Fletcher Mathews as well as New York City Mayor

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American born British lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As N ...

, were notorious

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Haight

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

to enter the bar in 1820. He was in private practice from 1820 to 1834 in

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, New York, and then in Rochester, New York, also serving as Mayor of Rochester. Haight was a member 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 1833, and was President of the City Bank of Rochester from 1834 to 1835, thereafter returning to private practice in Rochester until 1846, when he began the first phase of his journey west. He was in private practice in

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from 1846 to 1854. He resumed his travels west and was in private practice in

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from 1854 to 1861.

Federal judicial service

Haight was nominated by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

on August 5, 1861, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Isaac Stockton Keith Ogier. Haight's nomination was made on the advice of

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

Edward Bates Edward Bates (September 4, 1793 – March 25, 1869) was an American lawyer, politician and judge. He represented Missouri in the US House of Representatives and served as the U.S. Attorney General under President Abraham Lincoln. A member ...

.Abraham Lincoln to Edward Bates, August 5, 1861, in
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln
', Vol. 4 (

Rutgers University Press Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Pub ...

, 1953), p. 471. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on August 5, 1861, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on February 23, 1866, due to his death in San Francisco.

Family

Haight's son,

Henry Huntly Haight Henry Huntly Haight (May 20, 1825 – September 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the tenth governor of California from December 5, 1867, to December 8, 1871. Early life Childhood and education Haight was of English and ...

, was the 10th governor of California.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haight, Fletcher Mathews 1799 births 1866 deaths American people of Dutch descent American people of Irish descent Schuyler family Politicians from Elmira, New York New York (state) lawyers Lawyers from San Francisco Members of the New York State Assembly Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California United States federal judges appointed by Abraham Lincoln United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature