Isaac Samuels Pennybacker (September 3, 1805 – January 12, 1847) was a

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

and a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

Education and career

Born on September 3, 1805, at Pine Forge near Newmarket,

Shenandoah County Shenandoah County (formerly Dunmore County) is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,186. Its county seat is Woodstock, V ...

, Pennybacker attended an "old field" school and the

Winchester Law School Winchester Law School was a privately run institution for legal education in Winchester, Virginia. Operated by Chancellor Henry St. George Tucker Sr., it operated from 1824 to 1831. Tucker closed it after being elected to the state Court of Appea ...

. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Virginia until 1837.

House service

Pennybacker was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from

Virginia's 16th congressional district Virginia's 16th congressional district is an obsolete congressional district. It was eliminated in 1843 after the 1840 United States census, 1840 U.S. census. Its last congressman was William A. Harris (Virginia), William A. Harris. List of m ...

to the

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

of the

25th United States Congress The 25th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 18 ...

, serving from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839. He declined the office of

United States Attorney General 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 of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

offered him by President Martin Van Buren and that of Justice of the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

Federal judicial service

Pennybacker received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

on April 23, 1839, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Alexander Caldwell Alexander Caldwell (March 1, 1830May 19, 1917) was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Early years Born in Drakes Ferry, Pennsylvania, he attended public schools, and in 1847 enlisted as a private to serve in the Mexican–American War. He moved to ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Van Buren on January 23, 1840. 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 February 17, 1840, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 6, 1845, due to his resignation.

Senate service and death

Pennybacker was elected as a Democrat to the

to fill the vacancy in the term beginning March 4, 1845, caused by the failure of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

to elect, and served from December 3, 1845, until his death. He was Chairman of the Committee on Claims for the

29th United States Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845 ...

. He died on January 12, 1847, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He was interred in Woodbine Cemetery in Harrisonburg.

Other service

President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

named Pennybacker to the very first Board of Regents of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, a group which included Vice-President George M. Dallas, Chief Justice

Roger B. Taney Roger Brooke Taney ( ; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 186 ...

, Washington, D.C. Mayor

William Winston Seaton William Winston Seaton (January 11, 1785 – June 16, 1866) was an American journalist and the thirteenth mayor of Washington, D.C. Life William Winston Seaton was born in King William County, Virginia. His mother's maiden name was Winston and ...

, Senator Sidney Breese, United States Representative William Jervis Hough, United States Representative

Robert Dale Owen Robert Dale Owen (7 November 1801 – 24 June 1877) was a Scottish-born Welsh-American social reformer who was active in Indiana politics as member of the Democratic Party in the Indiana House of Representatives (1835–39 and 1851–53) and re ...

, United States Representative

Henry Washington Hilliard Henry Washington Hilliard (August 4, 1808 – December 17, 1892) was a unionist U.S. Representative from Alabama and a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In later life, he became a proponent of abolitionism i ...

Rufus Choate Rufus Choate () (October 1, 1799July 13, 1859) was an American lawyer, orator, and Senator who represented Massachusetts as a member of the Whig Party. He is regarded as one of the greatest American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over a ...

Richard Rush Richard Rush (August 29, 1780 – July 30, 1859) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the 8th United States Attorney General from 1814 to 1817 and the 8th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1825 to 1829. He serv ...

, Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

William C. Preston William Campbell Preston (December 27, 1794May 22, 1860) was a senator from the United States and a member of the Nullifier, and later Whig Parties. He was also the cousin of William Ballard Preston, William Preston and Angelica Singleton ...

Alexander Dallas Bache Alexander Dallas Bache (July 19, 1806 – February 17, 1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mideastern United States coastline. Originally an army ...

, and

Joseph Gilbert Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...

, among others, who met for the first time in September 1846.

Family

Pennybacker was a cousin of

Green Berry Samuels Green Berry Samuels (February 1, 1806 – January 5, 1859) was a Virginia lawyer, politician and judge. Early life Born in Shenandoah County, Virginia on February 6, 1806, Green Berry Samuels was a son of Isaac Samuels (1762–1819) and Elizabet ...

, a

from Virginia.

References

Sources

* * * Hon. Armistead M. Dobie, "Federal District Judges in Virginia before the Civil War," 12 F.R.D. 451 (1951,1952) (viewed on Westlaw) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennybacker, Isaac Samuel 1805 births 1847 deaths Virginia lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia United States federal judges appointed by Martin Van Buren 19th-century American judges Democratic Party United States senators from Virginia People from New Market, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American lawyers Winchester Law School alumni 19th-century Virginia politicians 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives