Rep. John Cadwalader

Judge John Cadwalader, the third in direct line to bear the name, was the eldest son of General Thomas and Mary (Biddle) Cadwalader. He was born in Philadelphia, April 1, 1805, died January 26, 1879. He was a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, A. B., class of 1821. When sixteen years of age he studied law, and before arriving at legal age, was admitted to the Philadelphia bar, September 20, 1825. He soon after his admission became solicitor for the Bank of the United States and soon became conspicuous even among the brilliant men of that day who composed the Philadelphia bar. He was retained by the Government in the famous Blackburne &Cloth Cases; and with Walter Jones and Daniel Webster represented the complainants in the Girard Will Case. When twenty-eight years old he was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, in 1834. From 1833-1853 he was vice-provost of the Philadelphia Law Academy. In 1844 he commanded a well-known company of Philadelphia militia tha served during the riots and disturbances of that year. He was active in securing the consolidation of the several districts of which Philadelphia was formerly composed, and in 1854 was elected to Congress after a hotly contested canvass in the Fifth District, then composed of Montgomery County and Kensington. He served with honor, but declined renomination. In 1858 he was appointed by President Buchanan to succeed Judge John K. Kane, deceased, as Judge of the United States District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania. This honorable position he held until his death, a period of twenty-one years. During the Civil War the jurisdiction of the court was greatly extended, and afterwards by the Internal Revenue Acts and the Bankrupt Law. In 1870 the University of Pennsylvania conferred upon Judge Cadwalader the honorary degree of LL.D. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1867; and a Democrat in politics.

He married (first) January 26, 1879, Mary, daughter of Horace and Elizabeth (Cox) Binney, (second) Henrietta Maria, widow of Bloomfield McIlvaine, and daughter of Charles N. Bancker, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia. Children: Mary Binney, married William Henry Rawle; Elizabeth Binney, married George Harrison Hare; Children by second wife: Sarah Bancker; Frances, deceased; Thomas, died in childhood; Charles Evert, graduate of University of Pennsylvania, A. B. and A. M.; enlisted in 1861 in First City Troop, afterwards was first lieutenant, 6th Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, attianing the rank of lieutenant-clolnel on the staff of General Meade; Anne, married Rev. Henry J. Rowland; John, of whom further; George, died young.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cadwalader_(jurist)

John Cadwalader (April 1, 1805 – January 26, 1879) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Life

Cadwalader was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1805. His mother was Mary Biddle (1781–1850) of the Biddle family. His father Thomas Cadwalader (1779–1841), grandfather John Cadwalader (1742–1786) and great-grandfather Thomas Cadwalader (1708–1779) were all military leaders. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 1821, and read law in 1825. He was in private practice of law from 1825 to 1855. He was a lawyer for the Bank of the United States in 1830, and was vice provost of the Law Academy of Philadelphia from 1833 to 1853. He was a captain of the Pennsylvania State Militia in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1844, which was called out for the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. He was elected as a Democrat as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1855 to 1857. He did not run for re-election.

Cadwalader was nominated by President James Buchanan on April 19, 1858, to be a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He replaced John K. Kane (1795–1858). He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24, 1858, and received his commission the same day. He served in that capacity until he died on January 26, 1879. He was buried in the Christ Church Burial Ground at the old Christ Church in Philadelphia.