John Meredith Read Sr. (July 21, 1797 – November 29, 1874) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and chief justice of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

Early life and education

Read John was born on Chestnut Street across the street from

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the eldest son of lawyer John Read and Martha Meredith Read. Both of his grandfathers (

George Read George Read may refer to: Soldiers * George C. Read (1788–1862), United States Navy admiral * George E. Read (1838–1910), American sailor and Medal of Honor recipient * George Windle Read (1860–1934), United States Army major general * George ...

and

Samuel Meredith Samuel Meredith may refer to: * Samuel Meredith (American politician) (1741–1817), American merchant and politician, Treasurer of the United States, 1789–1801 *Samuel Meredith (police officer) Captain Samuel Meredith (5 August 1794 – June 18 ...

) had served in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. After an education at home, Read graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, then

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 ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1818. He started a law practice in Philadelphia.

Political career

Read began his political career when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1822. He served until 1824 while remaining in the private practice of law. After this he served on the Philadelphia City Council, and for several years was the city's solicitor. Although his family had been

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

, he became an ardent supporter of the ''Free Soil'' wing of the Democratic Party. From 1837 to 1841, Read was the

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

Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philad ...

. In 1845, President John Tyler nominated him to the

Supreme Court of the United States 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 Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

; but, his earlier stance against the expansion of slavery into the territories caused the southern Democratic Senators to oppose his nomination and it was withdrawn. From June until December 1845 he served as the Attorney General of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 1863, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Read became an early supporter and organizer for the Republican Party. When they won in their first statewide races in 1858, Read was elected to the state supreme court. He then served until December 2, 1872, the last year as chief justice. When the Republicans held their first national convention at Philadelphia in 1856, Read was a convention organizer and delivered the convention

keynote address A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

. At the 1860 Republican Convention in Chicago, he received one vote on the first ballot for presidential nominee; still, he supported

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

as the nominee.

Family

Read was married twice, first to Priscilla Marshall in 1828. They had five children. After Priscilla's death, Read married Amelia Thompson in 1855. Read died at home in Philadelphia in 1874. His son,

J. Meredith Read John Meredith Read Jr. (February 21, 1837 – December 27, 1896) was a United States diplomat and author. Early life Read was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 21, 1837. He was one of five children born to Priscilla (née Marshall) ...

, was a noted American diplomat.

References

External links

*Th
John Meredith Read papers
which include materials covering his legal and political careers, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, John M. 1797 births 1874 deaths Chief justices of Pennsylvania Lawyers from Philadelphia Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Republicans Philadelphia City Council members Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania United States attorneys for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court 19th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly Chestnut Street (Philadelphia) Members of the American Philosophical Society