Henry Marchant

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Henry Marchant

| honorific-suffix =

| image = HenryMarchant (cropped).jpg

| caption = Etching of Henry Marchant by Max Rosenthal

| office = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

| term_start = July 3, 1790

| term_end = August 30, 1796

| nominator =

| appointer = George Washington

| predecessor = Seat established by 1 Stat. 128

| successor = Benjamin Bourne

| order1 = 38th

| office1 = Attorney General of Rhode Island

| term_start1 = 1771

| term_end1 = 1777

| governor1 = Joseph Wanton
Nicholas Cooke

| predecessor1 = Oliver Arnold

| successor1 = William Channing

| pronunciation =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1741|04|09}}

| birth_place = Martha's Vineyard,
Province of Massachusetts Bay,
British America

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1796|08|30|1741|04|09}}

| death_place = Newport, Rhode Island

| death_cause =

| resting_place = Common Burial Ground
Newport, Rhode Island

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| education = {{nowrap|University of Pennsylvania (A.M.)}}
read law

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Henry Marchant (April 9, 1741 – August 30, 1796) was a Founding Father of the United States, an attorney general of Rhode Island, a delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Rhode Island, a signer of the Articles of Confederation, and the first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Education and career

File:Coat of Arms of Henry Marchant.svg

Born on April 9, 1741, in Martha's Vineyard, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America,{{FJC Bio|1476|nid=1384301|name=Henry Marchant}} Marchant received an Artium Magister degree in 1762 from the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) and read law in 1776.FJC Bio indicates he read law in 1776, while his Congressional Biography indicates he was admitted to the bar in 1767. He entered private practice in Newport from 1767 to 1777. He was attorney general of Rhode Island from 1771 to 1777. He was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress from 1777 to 1779. He was one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation.{{CongBio|M000125|inline=yes}} He resumed private practice in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, from 1780 to 1784, also engaging in farming. He was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1784 to 1790. He was a member of the Rhode Island convention to adopt the United States Constitution, which ultimately was adopted by a separate convention in 1790.

Federal judicial service

Marchant was nominated by President George Washington on July 2, 1790, to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, to a new seat authorized by {{USStat|1|128}}. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 3, 1790, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated when he died on August 30, 1796, in Newport. He was interred in the Common Burial Ground in Newport.

=Notable case=

Marchant presided over West v. Barnes (1791), which was the first case appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Church and farm

File:Mrs._Henry_Marchant_(Rebecca_Cooke).jpg

Marchant was a member of Second Congregational Church of Newport.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0JYsAAAAYAAJ|title=The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations (Volume 8)|first=Charles Francis|last=Adams|date=July 19, 1853|publisher=Little Brown|via=Google Books|page=61}} His farm, the Henry Marchant Farm, is located in South Kingstown.