Gustavus Schmidt (16 June 1795 – 20 September 1877) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer and

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

on Civil Law at the University of Louisiana. He was the author of a number of law books and also founded the predecessor of the School of Law at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

Biography

Gustavus Schmidt was born in

Mariestad Mariestad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Mariestad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,611 inhabitants in 2019. Until 1997 it was the capital of the former Skaraborg County and an episcopal see in the ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County () is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...

, Sweden. He was educated at the classical school in Jönköpings, where his father, Hans Kristian Schmidt, was a judge of the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

for the south of Sweden. In 1810 he entered the Swedish Royal Navy. In 1815 he settled on the eastern shore of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he was engaged as a private tutor. Five years later he went to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

where he studied law and after being admitted to the

Virginia State Bar The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...

, practiced the legal profession for a number of years. Among the important cases with which he was connected was that of Jose Murando, Jose Hilario Casares, and Felix Barbieto, three Spaniards charged with piracy and murder on board the brig '' Crawford''. He was assigned as counsel for the defendants by Chief Justice

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, to whom he had been introduced by his elder brother, Karl Kristian Schmidt (1792-1872). His brother was a prominent Swedish

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and was also the editor-in-chief of the leading law journal of Sweden. The two brothers corresponded frequently throughout their lives. The case of the brig ''Crawford'' created an unusual sensation, owing to the horrible nature of the crime. Subsequently, Schmidt published ''A Brief Sketch of the Occurrences on board the Brig Crawford'' (Richmond, 1827). In 1829, Schmidt moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where he met and married Melanie Seghers, (1804-1836). She was the daughter of Dominique Seghers (1767-1848), a prominent attorney who had immigrated with his family from

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in 1807. Schmidt established himself in the legal profession and in New Orleans society. He was associated with

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

as co-counsel for the heirs of Claude Joseph Villars Dubreuil (1689-1757) in their suit for the recovery of the land on which the

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stood. His knowledge of the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

led to his selection by the merchants of New Orleans to look after their interests in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Subsequently, he was sent to

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Tulane University Law School The Tulane University School of Law is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. Campus The law schoo ...

. He also founded and edited the short-lived ''Louisiana Law Journal'' from 1841 to 1843. He published weekly reviews of the decisions of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (; ) is the supreme court, highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Supreme ...

in ''The Daily True Delta'' for years, and made contributions to periodicals. He wrote ''The Civil Law of Spain and Mexico, with Notes and References'' (New Orleans, 1851). At his death, he left a library with over 1,000 titles, many with multiple volumes.

Note

References

Other sources

External links

Gustavus Schmidt family papers, 1816-1969
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Gustavus 1795 births 1877 deaths Lawyers from New Orleans Swedish emigrants to the United States People from Mariestad University of Louisiana at Lafayette faculty 19th-century American lawyers