Mahlon Dickerson (April 17, 1770 – October 5, 1853) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

, the seventh

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

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

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, the 10th

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Early life

Dickerson was born on April 17, 1770, in Hanover Neck,

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherla ...

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was the brother of Philemon Dickerson, 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 ...

from New Jersey and Mahlon Dickerson's successor on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Dickerson was educated by private tutors, received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1789 from the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

) and read law in 1793.

Career

He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Morristown, from 1793 to 1794, and from 1794 to 1796. He was a private in the New Jersey Detached Militia, Second Regiment of Cavalry in 1794, during the Whiskey Rebellion. He continued private practice in

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 ...

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 ...

from 1797 to 1810. He was a miner and iron manufacturer in Morris County, New Jersey from 1810 to 1853. He served as a Judge of the Mayor's Court in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Philadelphia Common Council in 1799. He was a commissioner of bankruptcy for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1802. He was Adjutant-general for Pennsylvania from 1805 to 1808. He was city recorder for Philadelphia from 1808 to 1810. He was a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 1811 to 1813. He was a justice of the

from 1813 to 1815. He was reporter for the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1813 to 1814. He was the 7th

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

from 1815 to 1817.

Congressional service

Dickerson was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

(later Crawford Republican and Jacksonian Democrat) from

to 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 ...

in 1816. He was reelected in 1823 and served from March 4, 1817, to January 30, 1829, when he resigned. He was immediately reelected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Ephraim Bateman and served from January 30, 1829, to March 3, 1833. He was Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Library for the

15th United States Congress The 15th 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 the Old Brick Capitol in Washingto ...

, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce and Manufactures for the 16th through the 18th United States Congresses and Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Manufactures for the 19th through the 22nd United States Congresses.

Later career

Dickerson was vice-president of the New Jersey Legislative Council in 1833. President Andrew Jackson initially appointed him as minister to Russia which Dickerson had accepted only to find out upon his arrival to Washington D.C. that Jackson instead decided to make him the 10th

in 1834. He was re-appointed by 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 ...

and served from June 1834 to June 1838. Dickerson was a delegate to the New Jersey Constitutional Convention in 1844.

Federal judicial service

Dickerson was nominated by President

on July 14, 1840, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge William Rossell. He was confirmed by the

on July 21, 1840, and received his commission on July 23, 1840. His service terminated on February 16, 1841, due to his resignation.

Personal life

He died on October 5, 1853, in Succasunna, Morris County, New Jersey. He was interred in Presbyterian Cemetery in Succasunna.

Societies

In 1807, Dickerson was elected a member of 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 ...

. During the 1820s, he was a member of the prestigious society, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidents

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

and

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions. In 1833, he was admitted to the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

in the State of New Jersey.

Legacy

Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in Morris County is named after him.

References

Sources

External links

Biography of Mahlon Dickerson
New Jersey State Library
New Jersey Governor Mahlon Dickerson

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

Article at "Discovering Lewis & Clark"

from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

*
Mahlon Dickerson Reservation
a 3,200-acre Morris County, New Jersey public park {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Mahlon 1770 births 1853 deaths People from Hanover Township, New Jersey People from colonial New Jersey American Episcopalians United States secretaries of the navy Jackson administration cabinet members Van Buren administration cabinet members Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey Jacksonian United States senators from New Jersey New Jersey Democratic-Republicans New Jersey Jacksonians Governors of New Jersey Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Members of the New Jersey Legislative Council Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Philadelphia City Council members Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey United States federal judges appointed by Martin Van Buren Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century New Jersey state court judges Princeton University alumni People of the Whiskey Rebellion United States Army soldiers 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century United States senators