Philemon Bliss (July 28, 1813 – August 25, 1889) was an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Congressman, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

, and a

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Supreme Court justice.

Early life and education

Bliss was born in

Canton, Connecticut Canton is a town, incorporated in 1806, located in the Farmington Valley of Connecticut in the United States. It is part of Connecticut's Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region and the population was 10,124 as of the 2020 Un ...

in 1813 to Asahel Bliss and Lydia Adams (Griswold) Bliss. He attended

Fairfield Academy Fairfield Academy was an academy that existed for nearly one hundred years in the Town of Fairfield, New York, Fairfield, Herkimer County, New York. Founding It was organized as an academy for men in 1802, when the community was an active local ...

and

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

, where he studied law. He moved to

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio, southwest of Cleveland. The population was 52,656 at the 2020 United States cens ...

, where he studied law under his brother

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

Career

In 1840 Bliss passed the bar and began practicing law, first in

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 51,114 at the 2020 census. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb in the Akron metropolitan ar ...

and later in

. On November 16, 1843 he married Martha W. Thorpe. They had three children. He served as presiding judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit of Ohio from 1848 through 1851. Bliss ran for congressional office as a republican and was elected 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 ...

. He served in the 34th Congress as an Oppositionist and

35th Congress The 35th 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, 1857, ...

as a Republican, but did not run for re-election in 1858. President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

appointed Bliss chief justice of the

Supreme Court of Dakota Territory The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the List of Governors of South Dakota, governor. One justice is selected from each of fiv ...

in 1861. He also served as

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constituti ...

from 1868 through 1872.

Later career

After his retirement from the bench, Bliss became Law Dean for the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, where he served until his death in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

in 1889. He is buried at the Columbia Cemetery in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

Legacy

The Philemon Bliss Scholarship was established at the

University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The s ...

in his honor.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Philemon 1813 births 1889 deaths People from Canton, Connecticut Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Ohio state court judges Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri Justices of the Dakota Territorial Supreme Court 19th-century Missouri state court judges Ohio lawyers Politicians from Columbia, Missouri People from Elyria, Ohio Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Hamilton College (New York) alumni University of Missouri alumni University of Missouri faculty Burials at Columbia Cemetery (Columbia, Missouri) 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives