Nathaniel Shipman (August 22, 1828 – June 26, 1906) was a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeal ...

Education and career

Born on August 22, 1828, in Southbury,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Shipman graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1848 and attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, 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 ...

in 1850. He entered private practice in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, Connecticut from 1850 to 1873. He was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

in 1857. He was executive secretary for

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

William Alfred Buckingham William Alfred Buckingham (May 28, 1804 – February 5, 1875) was an American politician who served as the governor of Connecticut during the Civil War and later as a United States senator. Biography Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of Sam ...

from 1858 to 1863.

Federal judicial service

Shipman 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

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

on April 16, 1873, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

William Davis Shipman William Davis Shipman (December 29, 1818 – September 24, 1898) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. He notably presided over the 1861 trial of Nathaniel Gordon, the only pers ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Grant on December 2, 1873. 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 December 8, 1873, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 22, 1892, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit. Shipman was nominated by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

on December 16, 1891, to the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit, to a new joint seat authorized by 26 Stat. 826. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1892, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 22, 1902, due to his retirement.

Other service

Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Shipman was a lecturer for Yale Law School in 1889.

Death

Shipman died on June 26, 1906, in Hartford and was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shipman, Nathaniel 1828 births 1906 deaths Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) Connecticut lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Southbury, Connecticut United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant Yale Law School alumni 19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly