Matthew Birchard | |
Order: | 3rd |
Office: | Solicitor of the United States Treasury |
Term Start: | January 16, 1840 |
Term End: | March 17, 1841 |
Preceded: | Henry D. Gilpin |
Succeeded: | Charles B. Penrose |
Office2: | Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court |
Term Start2: | February 15, 1842 |
Term End2: | February 22, 1849 |
Preceded2: | Peter Hitchcock |
Succeeded2: | William B. Caldwell |
Party: | Democratic |
Birth Date: | 19 January 1804 |
Birth Place: | Becket, Massachusetts |
Death Place: | Warren, Ohio |
Restingplace: | Oakwood Cemetery |
Spouse: | Jane E. Weaver |
Children: | two |
Matthew Birchard (January 19, 1804 - June 16, 1876) was a judge in the U.S. State of Ohio who was an Ohio Supreme Court Judge 1842 - 1849.
Matthew Birchard was born in Becket, Massachusetts, and came to Trumbull County, Ohio, near Warren at age eight.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1828, and formed a partnership with future governor David Tod,[1] and six years later was elected Common Pleas Judge.[2]
Birchard accepted an appointment with the Federal Government for a time from his friend Andrew Jackson, first as Solicitor for the United States General Land Office, and then to succeed Henry D. Gilpin as Solicitor of the United States Treasury.[1] [3] He returned to Warren in 1841. He was elected from Trumbull County by the Ohio General Assembly as a judge of the Ohio Supreme Court for a seven-year term, and served 1842 - 1849.[4]
He was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1853 and served in the 51st General Assembly, 1854 - 1855.[5] He lost election to Congress in 1856 as the Democratic nominee in the .[6]
In 1867, Birchard purchased the newspaper Warren Constitution and ran it with his son until his death in 1876 in Warren.[1] He is buried at Oakwood Cemetery.
One author appraised Birchard thus: "His written opinions are characterized by felicity of expression and perspicuity of thought. His pertinacity has been bluntly denominated stubbornness."[2] Another opined : "The opinions of Judge Birchard were characterized by fluency of expression and clearness of logic. He was known as a man of strong convictions, great will of power, and possessed pertinacity of the sort that causes one juror out of twelve to dissent from the opinion of colleagues."[4] While a third stated: "...his opinions show him to have been a man of learning and research, with a strong sense of justice."[1]
Birchard married Jane E. Weaver of Bella Vista, Virginia in 1841 and raised two children.[7]