The Honorable
Samuel Crawford
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
June 1, 1853  June 1, 1855
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byOrsamus Cole
Personal details
Born(1820-04-20)April 20, 1820
Ballybay, Ireland, UK
DiedFebruary 28, 1861(1861-02-28) (aged 40)
Mineral Point, Wisconsin, U.S.
Cause of deathStroke
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJane Milton Sweet
Children4
Signature

Samuel Crawford (April 20, 1820  February 28, 1861) was an Irish American immigrant, lawyer, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was one of the first elected justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1853. He was also the first incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court justice to be defeated seeking re-election.

Early life

Born in Ballybay, Irelandthen part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandCrawford emigrated to New York City in 1840. In 1841, he moved to Galena, Illinois, where his brothers lived; he studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1844.[1]

Later that year, he moved north into the Wisconsin Territory, arriving first at New Diggingsthen part of Iowa Countyand, in December, settling in Mineral Point. He established a law practice there, in partnership with Francis J. Dunn and David W. Jones, and became involved with local affairs.[1][2]

Wisconsin Supreme Court

When an 1852 law established a new Wisconsin Supreme Court, Crawford was elected to serve as one of the first three justices, along with Abram D. Smith and Chief Justice Edward V. Whiton. The most significant case of his two years on the court was certainly Ableman v. Booth, which dealt with attempts by the federal government to prosecute Milwaukee abolitionist Sherman Booth. Booth had assisted Joshua Glover in his escape from slavery to freedom in Canada and was being prosecuted under the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled, in 1854, that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional and freed Booth on a defective warrant. Judge Crawford dissented in part, concurring that the warrant was defective but dissenting that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional.[3]

Though his opinion was ultimately validated by the Supreme Court of the United States in their 1859 decision on Ableman v. Booth, his dissent in the 1854 Booth case likely cost him re-election due to the strong anti-slavery sentiment in Wisconsin.[1]

Later years

Judge Crawford was defeated seeking re-election in 1855 and resumed his law practice in Mineral Point. He would later be selected as the Democratic Party's nominee for United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in 1856 and then for Attorney General of Wisconsin in 1859, but was unsuccessful in both campaigns.[1]

At the time of his death at the relatively young age of 41, Crawford was described as an alcoholic.[4] He died of "congestion of the brain" (an ischemic stroke) at his home in Mineral Point on February 28, 1861.[2][5]

Personal life and family

Crawford was married to Ms. Jane Milton Sweet, of Edgartown, Massachusetts, in 1848. They had four children. After Judge Crawford's death, in 1861, Jane remarried with John Montgomery Smith.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1852, 1855)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1852[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, September 1852
Democratic Samuel Crawford 10,520 53.48%
Independent Wiram Knowlton 9,151 46.52%
Plurality 1,369 6.96%
Total votes 19,671 100.0%
Democratic win (new seat)
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1855[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 3, 1855
Nonpartisan Orsamus Cole 32,881 55.95%
Nonpartisan Samuel Crawford (incumbent) 25,733 43.79%
Nonpartisan James H. Knowlton (Write-in) 64 0.11%
Scattering 90 0.15%
Plurality 7,148 12.16%
Total votes 58,768 100.0%

U.S. House of Representatives (1856)

Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District Election, 1856[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 4, 1856
Republican Cadwallader C. Washburn 27,103 61.80% +2.31%
Democratic Samuel Crawford 16,750 38.20% -1.57%
Plurality 10,353 23.61% +3.87%
Total votes 43,853 100.0% +118.71%
Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Attorney General (1859)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1859[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1859
Republican James Henry Howe 60,569 53.71%
Democratic Samuel Crawford 52,209 46.29% -3.93%
Plurality 8,360 7.41% +6.96%
Total votes 112,778 100.0% +26.54%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Samuel Crawford (1820-1860) - Former Justices". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Death of Judge Crawford". Grant County Herald. March 14, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved April 10, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. "In Re: Booth" (PDF). Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  4. "From Wisconsin". Chicago Tribune. March 7, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved October 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hon. Samuel Crawford". The Appleton Motor. March 14, 1861. p. 2. Retrieved April 11, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. "Judicial Election". Racine Advocate. October 13, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved April 7, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Associate Justice of the Supreme Court - Official". Daily Free Democrat. May 26, 1855. p. 2. Retrieved June 10, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  9. "The Result of the State Canvass". Wisconsin State Journal. December 3, 1859. p. 1. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
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