Stephen Mix Mitchell (December 9, 1743died September 30, 1835) was an American lawyer, jurist, and statesman from

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...

. He represented

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. ...

in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

and the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and was chief justice of the state's Supreme Court.

Biography

Mitchell was born in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut on December 9, 1743 and was the son of James and Rebecca Mitchell. He pursued academic studies; graduated from Yale College in 1763, and served as tutor at Yale from 1766 to 1769 while he studied law at New Haven and with Jared Ingersoll. He was admitted to the bar in 1770 and commenced practice in Newton, Connecticut. He married Hannah Grant and they had eleven children, Donald Grant Mitchell, Stephen Mix Mitchell, Lewis Mitchell, Charles Mitchell, Rebecca Mitchell, Alfred Mitchell (father of Donald Grant Mitchell), Walter Mitchell, Hannah Grant Mitchell, Harriet Mitchell, Elizabeth Mitchell Chester, and Julia Mitchell.

Career

Mitchell returned to Wethersfield in 1772 and continued the practice of law. He was a member of Connecticut state house of representatives from 1778 to 1784. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Connecticut from 1783 to 1788, and a member of Connecticut council of assistants from 1784 to 1792 (with the exception of 1786). He was also associate justice of the county court of Hartford County from 1779 to 1790, and presiding judge from 1790 to 1793. He was a member of the State convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States in 1788. In 1790, Mitchell ran in both the election for Connecticut's five at-large congressional seats, finishing 9th (the top 5 won), and in a special election caused by Pierpont Edwards' refusal to serve, where he finished 5th. When

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...

died in 1793, Governor Huntington appointed Mitchell to the United States Senate, where he served from December 2, 1793, to March 3, 1795. He did not seek re-election in 1794, but returned home to accept a seat on the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

beginning in 1795 until he was elevated to Chief Justice in 1807 and served there until his retirement to Wethersfield in 1814 when he became legally disqualified by age. In September 1807, he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Yale College. Mitchell was a presidential elector on the Federalist ticket in 1800 and a delegate to Connecticut state constitutional convention, 1818.

Death

Mitchell died in Wethersfield on September 30, 1835 (age 91 years, 295 days). He is interred at Wethersfield Cemetery, Wethersfield, Connecticut. He was the grandfather of author Donald Grant Mitchell.

References

External links

Mitchell's judicial history at Connecticut state library
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Stephen M. 1743 births 1835 deaths American people of Scottish descent Chief justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Connecticut Federalists Continental Congressmen from Connecticut Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) People from Wethersfield, Connecticut People from colonial Connecticut Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Connecticut Yale University alumni 18th-century United States senators Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections Candidates in the 1790–1791 United States elections