William Stephens (January 17, 1752 – August 6, 1819) was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Georgia The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

Education and career

Born on January 17, 1752, in Bewlie (now Beaulieu), Province of Georgia,

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...

, Stephens served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

as a second lieutenant during the American Revolutionary War. He was later a colonel in the Chatham County, Georgia militia. He was a clerk for the Georgia Commons House of Assembly starting in 1775. He was Attorney General of the Province of Georgia until 1776. He was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia starting in 1780. He was President of

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, Georgia starting in 1787. He was Mayor of Savannah from 1793 to 1794 and from 1795 to 1796. He was a judge of the Superior Court of Georgia.

Federal judicial service

Stephens received a recess appointment from President Thomas Jefferson on October 22, 1801, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Joseph Clay Jr. He was nominated to the same position by President Jefferson on January 6, 1802. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on October 13, 1818, due to his resignation.

Death

Stephens died on August 6, 1819, in Savannah.

References

Sources

External links

William Stephens F&AM
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, William 1752 births 1819 deaths Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Mayors of Savannah, Georgia Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Georgia United States federal judges appointed by Thomas Jefferson 19th-century American judges Continental Army officers from Georgia (U.S. state)