Samuel Chase (1741 - 1811)

Born 17 Apr 1741 in Princess Anne, Somerset Co, Province of Maryland

Ancestors

Husband of Hanna Kitty (Giles) Chase — married 1784 in England

Died 19 Jun 1811 at age 70 in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

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Biography

Samuel Chase is Notable.

Judge Samuel Chase was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Samuel Chase (1741-1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In 1804, Chase was impeached by the House of Representatives on grounds of letting his partisan leanings affect his court decisions, but was acquitted the following year by the Senate and remained in office. He is the only United States Supreme Court Justice to have ever been impeached.

Early Life

Samuel was the first son of the Reverend Thomas Chase and his wife Matilda (Walker) Chase, born on 17 Apr 1741 near Princess Anne, Somerset, Maryland Colony.^[1]

His father was a clergyman who immigrated to Somerset County to become a priest in a new church. Samuel was educated at home, receiving a good classical education from his father. He was eighteen when he left for Annapolis where he studied law under attorney John Hall. He was admitted to the bar in 1761 and started a law practice in Annapolis. He was a member of the Forensic Club, Annapolis, but in 1762 he was expelled for "extremely irregular and indecent" behavior.^[2] It was during his time as a member of the bar that his colleagues gave him the nickname of "Old Bacon Face."^[3]

Marriages and Children

He was married twice. First, on 2 May 1762, he married Ann Baldwin.^[1] The children of Samuel and Ann Chase were:^[2]

1. Matilda, b. 1763, m. Henry Ridgely^[4]
2. Thomas (1764-1765, m. Matilda Chase
3. Nancy (1768-1770)
4. Fanny (1770-1771)
5. Ann "Nancy" (1771-1852
6. Samuel (1773-1841)
7. Thomas (1774-1826)
8. Simon (?-?), m. Sarah Wingate^[4]

On 3 Mar 1784, he married for a second time, to Hannah Kitty Giles.^[1] The children of Samuel and Hannah Kitty Chase were:^[2]

1. Elizabeth, b. after 1784, m1. George Dugan, m2. Skipwith H. Coale^[4]
2. Mary, b. after 1784, m. William Bedford Barney^[4]

Public Service

In 1764, he was elected to the Maryland General Assembly, where he would serve for twenty years. In 1774 he was selected to represent Maryland at the Continental Congress. He was re-elected to that post in 1775, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776^[5][6], and continued to serve at the Continental Congress until 1778. In 1786 he moved to Baltimore, where two years later he was appointed chief justice of the Criminal Court of that district. In 1791, he was appointed chief justice of the state. ^[1]

In 1796 he was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, an office that he filled until his death.^[1]

Impeachment

Details of the impeachment of Judge Chase can be found in the Virginia Law Register,^[7] calling it "a political prosecution from beginning to end." The following quote from Wikipedia is a good summation of the events:

"After the 1800 elections, President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans sought to weaken Federalist influence on the federal courts. Chase's actions on the court had been accused of demonstrating bias, and Jefferson believed that Chase should be removed from office, a process that required a vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House passed eight articles of impeachment, all centering on Chase's alleged political bias. The Senate voted to acquit Chase on all counts, and Chase served on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811. Some historians have argued that Chase's acquittal set an important precedent regarding the independence of the federal judiciary."^[8]

Death

He passed away on 19 Jun 1811 in Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA.^[4] He was buried in Old Saint Pauls cemetery, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} State of Maryland archives
3. ↑ Samuel Chase on Wikipedia.com
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 04 Jan 2024), "Record of Samuel Chase", Ancestor # A021208.
5. ↑ Signers of the Declaraton of Independence
6. ↑ "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:78KZ-ZW2M : Thu Oct 05 07:27:22 UTC 2023), Entry for Samuel Chase.
7. ↑ Humphrey, Alexander Pope.“The Impeachment of Samuel Chase.” The Virginia Law Register 5, no. 5 (1899): 281–302.
8. ↑ Summary of Impeachment
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2804/samuel-chase: accessed 31 December 2023), memorial page for Samuel Chase (17 Apr 1741–19 Jun 1811), Find a Grave Memorial ID 2804, citing Old Saint Pauls Cemetery, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

See also:

• Impeachment of Samuel Chase
• FamilySearch 2YGW-2F4
• Samuel Chase. www.ushistory.org Copyright ©1999-2014 by the Independence Hall Association, a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1942. Publishing electronically as ushistory.org. On the Internet since July 4, 1995. Accessed: 04 Jan 2024
• "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Deaths and Burials, 1856-1971", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CY8-K9R7 : Thu Oct 05 15:59:28 UTC 2023), Entry for Hon Samuel Chase, 1811.
• "Connecticut, Charles R. Hale Collection, Vital Records, 1640-1955", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7CR-SYS : Mon Nov 13 12:36:21 UTC 2023), Entry for Samuel Chase, 17 Jun 1811.