Samuel Betts

Samuel Rossiter Betts (June 8, 1786 – November 3, 1868) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a United States representative from New York and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

This article is about the 19th-century U.S. representative and federal judge from New York. For the 18th-century Connecticut state representative, see Samuel Betts (Connecticut politician).

Samuel Betts
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office
December 21, 1826 – April 30, 1867
Appointed byJohn Quincy Adams
Preceded byWilliam P. Van Ness
Succeeded bySamuel Blatchford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 7th district
In office
March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817
Preceded byAbraham J. Hasbrouck
Succeeded byJosiah Hasbrouck
Judge of the Circuit Court for New York's 2nd District
In office
May 1, 1823 – December 21, 1826
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byJames Emott
District Attorney of Orange County, New York
In office
February 5, 1818 – June 6, 1820
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byHenry G. Wisner
In office
February 15, 1821 – May 9, 1823
Preceded byHenry G. Wisner
Succeeded byOgden Hoffman
Personal details
Born(1786-06-08)June 8, 1786
Richmond, Massachusetts
DiedNovember 3, 1868(1868-11-03) (aged 82)
New Haven, Connecticut
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
New York City, New York
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseCaroline Abigail Dewey
RelationsDaniel Dewey (father in law)
Children5
EducationWilliams College
ProfessionAttorney

Early life and education

Born on June 8, 1786, in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts,[1] Betts graduated from Lenox Academy in 1803, and was the first from that institution to attended college.[2] He graduated from Williams College in1806 and studied law with Thomas P. Grosvenor in Hudson, New York.[1][3]

Career

Betts was admitted to the bar in 1809 and entered private practice in Monticello, where he practiced until 1812.[1] He served in the United States Army from 1812 to 1814[1] appointed as a judge advocate of volunteers during the War of 1812.[3] He was a division judge advocate, General Court Martial, for the New York State Detached Militia starting in 1814.[1]

U.S. House of Representatives

Betts was elected as a Democratic-Republican from New York's 7th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 14th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1817.[4][3] He was not a candidate for renomination in 1816.[3]

Later career

Following his departure from Congress, Betts resumed private practice in Newburgh, New York, from 1817 to 1823.[1] He was district attorney for Orange County, New York from 1818 to 1820 and again from 1821 to 1823.[1] He was a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature of New York (now the New York Supreme Court) from 1823 to 1826.[1]

Federal judicial service

Betts was nominated by President John Quincy Adams on December 19, 1826, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge William P. Van Ness.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 1826, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on April 30, 1867, due to his resignation.[1]

Together with Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story and Judge Peleg Sprague on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Betts oversaw, untangled and interpreted the British legacy of admiralty and maritime law in adherence to the American Constitution.[5] He decided numerous prize court cases during the American Civil War.

Betts was the sitting judge for the piracy trial of Charles Gibbs in 1831.[6]

Personal life

Betts married Caroline Abigail Dewey (1798–1882), daughter of Daniel Dewey (1766–1815) and Maria Noble (1770–1813). They had five children.

According to the 1820 U.S. Census, Betts was the owner of two slaves, a female under 14, and a female between 26 and 44.[7] In keeping with New York's gradual emancipation law, under which all slaves were freed by 1827,[8] by the time of the 1830 census, Betts held no slaves.[9]

Betts died on November 3, 1868, in New Haven, Connecticut.[1] He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City, New York.[10][3]

See also

References
  1. Samuel Rossiter Betts at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. History of the Bench and Bar of New York (Vol. 2), David McAdam, Henry Bischoff, Jr., Jackson O. Dykeman, Joshua M. Van Cott, George G. Reynolds, Richard Henry Clarke (eds.), New York History Company (1897), pps. 43–44
  3. United States Congress. "Samuel Betts (id: B000427)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  4. "Samuel Rossiter Betts". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  5. Raffety, Matthew Taylor (2013). The Republic Afloat: Law, Honor, and Citizenship in Maritime America. University of Chicago Press.
  6. Thomas, Wansley (1831). The life and confession of Thos. J. Wansley : one of the pirates, concerned with Charles Gibbs, alias James Jeffers, in the murder and piracy committed on board the brig Vineyard / written by himself ; to which is added, several interesting letters, together with the trial, sentence, and execution of Gibbs and Wansley, the latter of which took place on the 22d day of April, 1831. Charles N. Baldwin.
  7. "1820 United States Federal Census, Entry for Samuel R. Betts". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. 1820. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  8. Landy, Craig A. (June 7, 2017). "When Did Slavery End in New York?". Historical Society of the New York Courts. White Plains, NY. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  9. "1830 United States Federal Census, Entry for Samuel R. Betts". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. 1830. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  10. "Samuel Rossiter Betts". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
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