Joshua Lewis (June 5, 1772 – 1833)''Celebration of the Centenary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana'' (March 1, 1913), in John Wymond, Henry Plauché Dart, eds., ''The Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' (1922), p. 114. was a judge of the Superior Court of the
Territory of Orleans
The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana.
History
In 180 ...
and, after Louisiana became a state, the 1st Judicial District Court of that state.
Early life
Joshua Lewis was born in
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Lo ...
, in Loudoun County October 25, 1772, to Captain John Lewis and his wife Elizabeth Givens. John and Elizabeth Lewis had two other sons, William (born 1767) and Thomas (born 1774). Sometime in the 1780s, Joshua moved with his family to Jessamine County, Kentucky, where his father built a mill on the Kentucky River near what is now known as High Bridge. In 1790, Captain Lewis donated 100 acres of land to the Bethel Academy for Bishop Asbury to form a Methodist Episcopal School. Later, Joshua attended Cokesbury College, also established by Bishop Asbury in Abdington, Maryland. Joshua graduated in 1793 and the diploma resides at the Louisiana State Museum among the relics of Mrs. H.H. Bull.
Joshua married America Lawson, daughter of General Robert Lawson, on December 23, 1797. They had twelve children, 10 of whom lived past the age of 3: Sidonia Pierce (1798), John Lawson (1800), Louisa Marie (1801), Theodore (1803), Eliza (1804), Alfred Jefferson (1808), Twins Hampden and Sidney (1810), George Washington (1814), and Benjamin Franklin (1818).
John Lawson Lewis became both Mayor and Sheriff of New Orleans and as a teen ran messages for General Jackson during the
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Fren ...
, later fighting in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
as a Brigadier General of the Louisiana State Militia. Algernon Sidney became a lawyer and was father of Ernest Sidney Lewis (famous gynecologist); Theodore, a major in the Mexican American War and a Confederate veteran; Alfred Jefferson (lawyer and judge); and George Washington (planter in the Algiers district).
Career
Lewis graduated from
Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexing ...
, having studied law, and settled his family in Jessamine County, Kentucky, near Lexington, in 1798. He was appointed the prosecutor for Jessamine County that year and was elected to the
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...
in 1799, 1803 and 1804. He was a political advisor to
Henry Clay
Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, ...
.
In 1803, President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
completed the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
. While it is frequently reported that Jefferson sent Lewis to
Edward Livingston and James Brown, as commissioners to receive the purchased territory from the French, Lewis was not sent by Jefferson until 1805, and then to be a commissioner to deal with
land titles
Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, ...
. In 1806, Lewis was appointed as one of three judges of the Superior court of the
Territory of Orleans
The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana.
History
In 180 ...
.
When Louisiana was admitted into the Union in 1812, Lewis and the other judges of the territorial Superior Court continued in their posts, under the 'schedule' of the State constitution, until the Supreme Court was selected. He was then made judge of the 1st judicial district. He served under Andrew Jackson in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...
, participating as the captain of an organized military company in the night attack on the British of December 23, 1814, during the
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Fren ...
. In 1816, he ran for Governor against Jacques Villeré. The political division in the state then was between French and Spanish Creoles and newly arrived Anglo-Americans. Villeré, the Creole candidate, narrowly defeated Lewis.
Lewis remained a state judge until his death in New Orleans in 1833. He was buried beside his wife near Madisonville, Louisiana, on the west bank of the Tchefuncte River.
Memorials
Upon his death, the members of the bar desired to erect a monument to his memory, but his children declined the honor, because their father had requested that he should rest in the same spot with his wife. The lake front of his country seat in St. Tammany Parish was then sold in town lots, and named Lewisburg, in his honor. Lewisburg is an unincorporated community.
See also
*
John L. Lewis (New Orleans)
John Lawson Lewis (March 26, 1800 – May 15, 1886) was the 17th mayor of New Orleans (April 10, 1854 – June 17, 1856). He had previously served in the Louisiana State Senate and as sheriff of Orleans Parish. During the American Civil ...