Thomas Jackson Oakley (November 10, 1783 – May 11, 1857) was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

attorney, politician, and judge. He served as 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 1813 to 1815, and from 1827 to 1828, and as

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

from 1819 to 1821.

Early life

Oakley was born in Beekman, New York on November 10, 1783. He was the son of Jerusha (Petera) Oakley and Jesse Oakley, a farmer and veteran of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1801, studied law with attorney Philo Ruggles in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson River Valley region, midway between the core of the New ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1804.

Career

Oakley practiced first in Poughkeepsie, and later in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Among his notable cases, Oakley and

Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. In Ireland, in the 1790s, he was a senior member of the Society of United Irishmen as it planned for an insurrection against the British Crown ...

represented

Aaron Ogden Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer, United States Senator and the fifth governor of New Jersey. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'' which destroyed the monopoly ...

in the landmark case ''

Gibbons v. Ogden ''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which is granted to the US Congress by the Commerce Clause of the US ...

'', which the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

ultimately resolved in favor of Gibbons, who was represented by

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

and William Wirt. Oakley was Surrogate of

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later org ...

from 1810 to 1811. He was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the

Thirteenth United States Congress The 13th 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, 1813 ...

(March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815). During this term, Oakley was an anti-war Federalist and opposed U.S. participation in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. Oakley was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in 1816, and again from 1818 to 1820. From 1819 to 1821, he was

. In 1826, he was again elected to Congress, serving from March 4, 1827, until May 9, 1828, when he resigned to accept a judgeship. He was a judge of the

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

from 1828 to 1847. In 1847, he was appointed chief judge, and he served until his death in office. In 1853, Oakley received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Personal life

In 1808, Oakley married Lydia Williams, the daughter of Abigail (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Sayre) Williams and Robert Williams, a prominent business and political figure in Poughkeepsie. They were the parents of a son:, Robert Williams Oakley, a

graduate, attorney, and militia officer who died unmarried in 1832. After the death of his first wife Oakley married Matilda Cruger (1809–1891); the daughter of Henry Cruger, who had the unique distinction of serving as both a member of Parliament (1774–1780; 1784–1790) and as a New York State Senator (1792–1796) Thomas and Matilda were the parents of five children, three daughters and two sons. Oakley died May 11, 1857, and was buried at Trinity Churchyard in

Descendants

Through his daughter Matilda Cruger (née Oakley) Rhinelander (1827–1914), who married William Rhinelander, he was the grandfather of Thomas Jackson Oakley Rhinelander (1858–1946) and Philip Jacob Rhinelander (1865–1940), both of whom were prominent in New York society during the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

References

;Notes ;Books * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, Thomas Jackson 1783 births 1857 deaths Yale University alumni Politicians from Dutchess County, New York Members of the New York State Assembly New York State attorneys general New York state court judges Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from Poughkeepsie, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives