Philemon Dickerson (January 11, 1788 – December 10, 1862) was 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 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 12th

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 ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. gover ...

Education and career

Born on January 11, 1788,Dickerson's gravestone and some other sources give his birth June 26, 1788. However, both FJC Bio and CongBio, as well as other sources give his date as January 11, 1788, which date will be used in this article. in

Succasunna, New Jersey Succasunna is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Roxbury Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States, serving as the township's downtown and population center. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of ...

, Dickerson pursued classical studies, received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1808 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 ...

and

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 1813. He was admitted to the bar and entered 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, from 1813 to 1816. He continued private practice in Paterson, New Jersey from 1816 to 1821, and from 1822 to 1833, having been admitted as a counselor in 1817. 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 Essex County, from 1821 to 1822.

Congressional and gubernatorial service

Dickerson was elected as a

Jacksonian Democrat Jacksonian democracy, also known as Jacksonianism, was a 19th-century political ideology in the United States that restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andrew Jackson and his supporters, i ...

from New Jersey's at-large congressional district 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 ...

of the 23rd and

24th United States Congress The 24th 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, 183 ...

es and served from March 4, 1833, until November 3, 1836, when he resigned, having been chosen as the 12th

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 ...

by the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. He served as Governor and ex officio Chancellor from November 3, 1836, to October 27, 1837. He was appointed sergeant at law in 1834, being the last person in New Jersey to hold that title. He resumed private practice in Paterson from 1837 to 1839. He was elected as a Democrat to the

26th United States Congress The 26th 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, 183 ...

, serving from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1841. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the

27th United States Congress The 27th 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., between March 4, ...

Federal judicial service

Dickerson was nominated 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 ...

on February 22, 1841, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Mahlon Dickerson Mahlon Dickerson (April 17, 1770 – October 5, 1853) was a justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the seventh governor of New Jersey, United States Senator from New Jersey, the 10th United States Secretary of the Navy and a United States ...

. 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 February 27, 1841, and received his commission on March 2, 1841. His service terminated on December 10, 1862, due to his death in Paterson. He was interred in Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson.

Other service

Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Dickerson was President of the city council of Paterson in 1851.

Family

Dickerson was the brother of

, a

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 and Dickerson's predecessor on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Note

References

Sources

*
New Jersey Governor Philemon 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 ...

Biography of Philemon Dickerson
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Philemon 1788 births 1862 deaths Democratic Party governors of New Jersey University of Pennsylvania alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey United States federal judges appointed by Martin Van Buren 19th-century American judges American Episcopalians New Jersey Democratic-Republicans People from Roxbury, New Jersey Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Burials at Cedar Lawn Cemetery United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature