by David Barton
Elbert Thomas Gallagher (1897-1977; Vermont, New York) Attorney and jurist; born in Danville, Vermont, and graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont (1923); graduated law school at Columbia University (1928) and admitted to the New York Bar (1928); District Attorney of Westchester County (1940-1945); Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1946-1949); New York State Supreme Court Justice (1951-1973); Administrative Judge (1974-1977).
Jonas Galusha (1753-1834; Vermont) Soldier, jurist, and public official; led two companies of soldiers in the Battle of Bennington (1775); served in numerous local political offices; justice of the Vermont Supreme Court for two years; presidential elector (1808, 1820, 1824); Governor of Vermont (1809-13, 1815-20); president of the State constitutional conventions (1814 and 1822); member of the Baptist Church; vice-president of the American Bible Society.
James A. Garfield (1831-1881; Ohio) Attorney, Minister, educator, soldier, and public official; experienced a dramatic conversion to Christianity in his youth while working on the Ohio canal and was later licensed as a minister in the Christian Church; studied at Geauga Seminary in Ohio (1849); graduated from Williams College (1856); Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature in Hiram College, Ohio (1856); President of Hiram College (1857-61); U. S. Senator (1859); admitted to the bar (1860); entered the Union side in the Civil War as Lieutenant-Colonel (1861); won a victory at Middle Creek and gained the rank of Brigadier-General (1862); promoted to Major-General (1863) and then resigned; member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1863-80); elected the twentieth President of the United States (1880); shot by an assassin at the Washington railroad station en route for a northern trip (1881) and died 81 days later.
William Gaston (1778-1844; North Carolina) Attorney, jurist, and public official; graduated from Princeton (1796); admitted to the bar (1800); member of the State Senate (1800-12, 1818-19); member of the State House (1807-1809, 1824, 1827-29, 1831); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1813-17); vice-president of the American Bible Society; justice on the State Supreme Court (1833-44) – there was a question of his eligibility because he was a Roman Catholic and the State constitution forbade civil office to anyone who would “deny the truth of the Protestant religion,” but he was later able to change the article to read “Christian” instead of “Protestant” (expanded explanation in Chapter 2).
King George III (1738-1820; England) Monarch; reigned as King of Great Britain during the American Revolution; oldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales; and his grandfather was King George II; George III was said to be a poor student in his youth and mentally unstable; reigned not only during the American Revolution, but also during the defeat of Napoleon as well as during the overall decline of British monarchial power.
Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814; Massachusetts) Merchant, and public official; graduated from Harvard (1762); entered mercantile business; member of the Massachusetts Court (1772-74); member of the Committee of Correspondence (1772-74); member of the State Provincial Congress (1774-76); member of the Committee of Safety (1774-76); member of the Continental Congress (1776-80, 1783-85) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Articles of Confederation (1778); member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1786); delegate to the Constitutional Convention but refused to sign the federal Constitution because it provided no protection for States’ rights (1787); Governor of Massachusetts (1810-11); Vice-President of the United States under President James Madison.
William Giles (1762-1830; Virginia) Attorney, and public official; graduated from Princeton (1781); admitted to the bar (1786); member of the U. S. House (1790-98, 1801); U. S. Senator (1803-15); strong Jefferson ally and strong opponent of Hamilton’s centralizing policies; opposed the Jay Treaty (1794) – (a second treaty with the British to settle difficulties remaining from the treaty which ended the American Revolution); was much behind the exposure of the XYZ Papers (1797) – (Charles Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry were seeking a treaty with France; three agents of France – X, Y, and Z – suggested that a U. S. “loan” to France and a bribe of $240,000 to the French Foreign Minister would help in securing the treaty); considered a “War Hawk” but an opponent of the Madison administration in the War of 1812; Governor of Virginia (1827-30); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1829-30).
Stephen Girard (1750-1831; France, Pennsylvania) Sailor, philanthropist; earned his masters rating on a merchant ship; voyaged to the West Indies as a captain (1774); sailed for a New York mercantile house (1776); settled in Philadelphia during the Revolution (1776); worked tirelessly to aid victims during the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemics of 1793 and 1797; when the charter of the Bank of the United States expired, he bought the institution’s building and opened the Bank of Stephen Girard (1812), establishing credit with both American and European banks; expedited the sale of government bonds during the War of 1812; underwrote nearly the entire 3 million needed to capitalize the Second Bank of the United States; became known as the “sheet anchor” of government credit; upon his death, left 7 million dollars to the city of Philadelphia for the founding of Girard College.
Charles Goldsborough (1765-1834; Maryland) Attorney, and public official; graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (1784); admitted to the bar (1790); member of the State senate (1791-95, 1799-1801); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1805-17) where he voted against the declaration of war in 1812; Governor of Maryland (1818-19); retired from public life in 1820; vice-president of the American Bible Society (1819-1834).
Nathaniel Gorham (1738-1796; Massachusetts) Merchant, public official, and jurist; apprenticed under a merchant at fifteen; became a successful businessman; served in the State legislature (1771-75); delegate to the Provincial Congress (1774-75); member of the Board of War (1778-81); delegate to the Continental Congress (1782-83, 1787) where he served as President of Congress (1786); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1779-80); member of the State Senate (1780); member of the State House (1781-87); judge of Court of Common Pleas (1785-1796); delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the federal Constitution (1787); delegate to the State convention which ratified the federal Constitution (1788).
Gratian (circa 1100-55) Theologian; monk of the order of St. Benedict; lecturer at the monastery of Saints Felix and Nabor in Bologna, Italy; his The Harmony of Conflicting Canons (most commonly known as Gratian’s Decrees) was at the time thought by Popes and Bishops to be the most important book on church law; is considered the “Father of Canon Law.”
William Gray (1750-1825; Massachusetts) Merchant, soldier, and public official; one of the first New England merchants to trade abroad; owned many privateer ships in the American Revolution; Second-Lieutenant in the militia (1775-76); delegate to the Massachusetts ratification convention for the federal Constitution (1788); State Senator (1807-08); Lieutenant-Governor (1810-12); president of the Boston branch of the Bank of the United States (1816-22); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1820); vice-president of the American Bible Society.
Rev. Ashbel Green (1762-1848; New Jersey) Soldier, clergyman, and educator; Sergeant in the Continental Army; studied theology under the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon and graduated from Princeton (1783); licensed to preach (1786); minister at Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1787-1812); chaplain to Congress (1792-1800); member of the Presbyterian General Assembly for twenty years between 1790 and 1839 and wrote its historic declaration against slavery (1818); one of the founders of America’s first Bible society – the Philadelphia Bible Society (1808); president of Princeton (1812-22); authored the plan for Princeton Theological Seminary and was president of its board of directors (1812- 48); wrote, edited, and published a monthly magazine, The Christian Advocate, as well as numerous other sermons, discourses, and theological treatises.
Nathanael Greene (1742-86; Rhode Island, South Carolina, Georgia) Soldier; tutored in Latin and geometry, and gradually studied the works of Locke, Watts, and Swift; Deputy to
the Rhode Island General Assembly (1770-72, 1775); was a Quaker until he was expelled from the Society of Friends for his interest in military matters (circa 1774-1776); served in the Continental Army as a Brigadier-General (1776) and was an important leader in the Battle of Brandywine (1777); promoted to Major-General (1776); appointed Quarter-Master General (1778); when Washington was in Hartford to meet with the French allies, it was Greene who received the report of Benedict Arnold’s treason attempt (1780); appointed Commander of the Southern Army to replace General Gates who was highly critical of Washington (1780); largely responsible for ending the war in South Carolina (1781-82); South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia voted him a large remuneration with which he bought expansive South Carolina estates (1784); moved to a plantation in Georgia given him by the grateful people of that State (1785).
Hugo Grotius (1583-1645; Holland) A Dutch lawyer, theologian, statesman, and poet; graduated from the University of Leiden; Chief Magistrate of Rotterdam (1613); condemned to life in prison because he opposed strict Calvinism, however, he escaped with the aid of his wife (1619); authored On the Law of War and Peace (1625) and consequently is considered, along with Puffendorf, a founder of international law; Swedish Ambassador to France (1635-45).
Felix Grundy (1777-1840; Tennessee, Kentucky) Attorney, jurist, and public official; no formal education; admitted to the bar (1797); delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention (1799); member of the Kentucky House of Representatives (1800-05); justice of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, (1806-07); member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Tennessee (1811-14); vice-president of the American Bible Society (1816-30); U. S. Senator from Tennessee (1829-40); member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1819-25); U. S. Attorney-General under President Martin Van Buren (1838-39).
Rev. James Hall (1744-1826; North Carolina) Clergyman, and soldier; studied theology under the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon at Princeton where he graduated (1774); licensed to preach (1775); accepted the pastorate of Fourth Creek church in Concord/Bethany, North Carolina (1776); accompanied an expedition against the Cherokee Indians during the Revolution; held double office as commander of troops and chaplain; established a mission at Natchez under the commission of the Presbyterian General Assembly (1800); moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (1803); a regular attendant at the Synod of the Carolinas and later became its last moderator (1812); active in the American Bible Society.
Rev. Lyman Hall (1724-1790; Georgia) Clergyman, physician, public official, and jurist; graduated from Yale (1747); studied theology and began preaching (1749); studied medicine and commenced practice in Wallingford (1751); member of the State conventions held in Savannah (1774-75); member of the Continental Congress (1775-80) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); Governor of Georgia (1783); judge of the Court of Chatham County until his death.
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804; New York) Attorney, soldier, and public official; attended King’s College but left to join the Revolution; Captain of artillery in the Continental Army (1776); Lieutenant-Colonel and aide-de-camp to General Washington (1777-81); admitted to the bar (1782); member of the Continental Congress (1782-83, 1787-88); delegate to the Annapolis Convention (1786); member of the New York State Assembly (1787); delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the federal Constitution (1787); member of the State ratification convention for the federal Constitution (1788); one of the three coauthors, along with James Madison and John Jay, of the Federalist Papers instrumental in securing the ratification of the Constitution (1788); appointed Secretary of U. S. Treasury by President George Washington (1789-95) and then Inspector General with the rank of Major-General (1798); Hamilton called Aaron Burr “dangerous” and held a poor private opinion of him, causing Burr to challenge him to a duel in which Hamilton was killed (1804).
John Hamilton (1754-1837; Pennsylvania) Soldier, public official, and jurist; Lieutenant-Colonel of militia (1786); sheriff of Washington County (1793-96); member of the State Senate (1796-1805, 1820-37); Brigadier-General (1800); associate judge of Washington County (1802-05); member of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania (1802-31); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1805-07); Major-General (1807); associate judge of Washington County (1820-37).
John Hancock (1737-1793; Massachusetts) Soldier, public official; graduated from Harvard (1754); served several terms as a Selectman of Boston; member of the Provincial Legislature (1766-72); member of the Continental Congress (1774-78) where he was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and President of Congress (1774-77); Senior Major-General of Massachusetts Militia (1778); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1779); Governor of Massachusetts (1780-85, 1787-93).
John Hart (1711-1779; New Jersey) Jurist and public official; attended private school, with little formal education; Justice-of-the-Peace (1755, 1761); judge of the New Jersey Court of Common Claims (1761-76); member of the Provincial Assembly of New Jersey (1761-71); chairman of the township committees of Hunterdon County (1768-75); member of the New Jersey Provincial Congress (1775 -76); member of the Continental Congress (1776) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); chairman of the New Jersey Council of Safety (1777-78); forced to flee his estate and the bedside of his dying wife when British troops invaded New Jersey (1778); spent a year living in the forest evading British capture (1779); when he returned home his entire estate had been devastated, his family of twelve children scattered, and his wife dead; he died shortly thereafter, supposedly of deep sorrow.
Patrick Henry (1736-1799; Virginia) Attorney, and public official; educated by his father; at 15 years of age was a clerk at a small store (1751); opened his own store at 16 (1752); began law practice (1760) member of the House of Burgesses (1765); member of the Continental Congress (1774-75); member of the State Assembly where on March 23, 1775, he delivered his famous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech; Governor of Virginia (1776-79, 1784-86); member of the State convention which ratified the Constitution (1788); offered but declined numerous appointments, including U. S. Senator (1794) and Secretary of State under President George Washington (1795); elected to the State Senate (1799) but died before he took office.
William Wirt Henry (1831-1900; Virginia) Attorney, and public official; grandson of Patrick Henry and named for William Wirt, the prominent statesman and first biographer of Patrick Henry; graduated from the University of Virginia (1850); entered legal practice (1853); member of the State House of Delegates (1877-79); member of the State Senate (1879-80); compiler of The Addresses, Papers and Speeches of Patrick Henry (1891).
Rev. Abiel Holmes (1763-1837; Massachusetts) Congregational clergyman and historian; graduated from Yale (1783); ordained at New Haven (1784); taught at Yale (1786-87); pastor of the First Church in Cambridge (1792-1829); member of the Massachusetts Historical Society (1798-1837); as a historian, wrote Annals of America from the Discovery by Columbus in the Year 1492 to the Year 1826 – the first attempt at an extensive, orderly history of America as a whole; father of jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1932; Massachusetts) Attorney and jurist; educated in private schools; Lieutenant in the Union army in the Civil War (1861-63); graduated Harvard Law School (1866); admitted to the bar (1867); member of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (1882-1901) and its Chief Justice (1899-1901); appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court by President Theodore Roosevelt (1902-32); considered an early positivist and judicial evolutionist.
Samuel Holton (1738-1816; Massachusetts) Physician, jurist, and public official; began practice in Gloucester, Massachusetts (1765); member of the General Court (1768); member of the Committees of Correspondence (1774-75); member of the Continental Congress (1778); delegate to the State constitutional convention (1778-79); probate judge (1796-1815); member of the U. S. House of Representatives (1793-95); involved in the temperance movement in Massachusetts (1812-13).
Rev. Richard Hooker (1553-1600; England) Theologian and political philosopher; wrote the first four books of The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity which defended the Church of England against the dissenters and the Puritans; known as “The Father of Anglicanism.”
William Hooper (1742-1790; North Carolina) Attorney and public official; graduated from Harvard (1760); admitted to the bar and began his practice in Wilmington, N. C. (1767); member of the Colonial Assembly of North Carolina (1773-76); member of the Continental Congress (1774-77) where he signed the Declaration of Independence (1776); member of the State Assembly (1777-78); member of a commission to settle a boundary dispute between Massachusetts and New York (1786).
