Jonathan Sturges

Jonathan Sturges (August 23, 1740 – October 4, 1819) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from Fairfield, Connecticut. He represented Connecticut as a delegate to the Continental Congress and in the United States House of Representatives.

For his grandson, the American businessman and arts patron, see Jonathan Sturges (businessman).

Jonathan Sturges
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Connecticut's At-large district
In office
March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793
Preceded byRoger Sherman
Succeeded byJonathan Trumbull, Jr.
Personal details
Born(1740-08-23)August 23, 1740
Fairfield, Connecticut Colony, British America
DiedOctober 4, 1819(1819-10-04) (aged 79)
Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyPro-Administration Party
SpouseDeborah Lewis Sturges
ChildrenLewis Burr Sturges, Jonathan Sturges, Barnabas Lothrop Sturges and Priscilla Sturges
Alma materYale College
OccupationLawyer, Jurist, Politician

Early life

Sturges was born in Fairfield in the Connecticut Colony where his father, Samuel (1712–1771) was a surveyor. His mother, Ann (Burr) Sturges was Samuel's second wife.[1] His great-great grandfather, also Jonathan Sturges (1624–1700), was one of the original settlers of the town.[2]

Sturges graduated from Yale in 1759. He earned his master's degree from Yale in 1761, and his Doctor of Laws degree from Yale in 1806.[3] He read law, and was admitted to the bar in May 1772. He began the practice of law in Fairfield.

Career

Sturges' entry into public service came when his neighbors in Fairfield sent him to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1772. He was returned every year until 1784.[4] In 1773 he served Fairfield County as a justice of the peace, and in 1775 he served as the judge of probate court.[5] Connecticut sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1786. He served as a member of the Connecticut Council of Assistants from 1786 to 1788.[6]

When the new United States government was formed, the voters elected him to the U.S. House as a Pro-Administration Party candidate. He served two terms in Congress from March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1793.[7] Sturges was one of seven representatives to vote against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. [8]

Upon returning home, he was appointed an Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, serving from 1793 until 1805. He was a presidential elector in 1797 and 1805.[9]

Sturges died at his home in Fairfield on October 4, 1819.

Personal life

In 1760 Sturges married Deborah Lewis. They had four children together.

Their son, Lewis Burr Sturges, would follow his father in the U.S. Congress.[10]

Jonathan Sturges, an important arts patron in New York City, was his grandson.[11]

References
  1. "Jonathan Sturges". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  2. "The Sturges Family" (PDF). Fairfield History.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  3. Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence and John De Witt (1900). Universities and their sons: history, influence and characteristics of American universities, with biographical sketches and portraits of alumni and recipients of honorary degrees, Volume 5. R. Herndon company. p. 236.
  4. Denboer, Gordon R (1984). Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788-1790. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780299095109.
  5. "STURGES, Jonathan, (1740-1819)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  6. "Sturges, Jonathan (1740-1819)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  7. "Rep. Jonathan Sturges". Govtrack.us. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  8. "Voteview | Plot Vote: 2nd Congress > House > 85". voteview.com. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  9. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (1919). The New York genealogical and biographical record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 230.
  10. "Sturges, Lewis Burr (1763-1844)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  11. Oaklander, Christine I. (2008). "Jonathan Sturges, W. H. Osborn, and William Church Osborn: A Chapter in American Art Patronage". Metropolitan Museum Journal. 43: 173–194. doi:10.1086/met.43.25699093. JSTOR 25699093. S2CID 192999034.
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