Passed Chief Justices - # 3 – Oliver Ellsworth

Bust of Chief Justice Ellsworth, U.S. Supreme Court,

Washington, D.C. (11 April 2019)

In October, I was able to visit the last resting place of our third Chief Justice in Windsor, Connecticut. Since this completes the ‘Departed Chief Justice Chase,’ we are now able to present their stories in chronological order. The first and second, John Jay and John Rutledge, have been posted and I had to throw in # 10, William H. Taft, because he was also a president and his grave had already been presented.

When I visited VP # 4, George Clinton, I referred to him as a ‘Second Team’ Founding Father largely because he is not as well-known as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin and Hamilton. Fact is, there were a number of other significant contributors to our nation’s founding and Oliver Ellsworth was one.

Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth

(Credit – U.S. Senate Historical Office)

(Clearly, a more favorable view than that 

presented by the Supreme Court bust above)

Oliver Ellsworth was an important player in the new nation’s founding. He was a Connecticut representative at the Constitutional Convention and served on the committee that drafted the final document. When the founders considered the kind of federal legislature we would have, the Virginia delegation, led by James Madison, preferred a proportional legislature that reflected their significant economies and population size (including all those enslaved, three-fifths, less-than-fully humans) so they could more easily throw their weight around. Ellsworth is credited with promoting the Great Compromise in which the House of representatives would have proportional representation and the Senate equal representation.

Once the Constitution was ratified and the federal government established, he served as one of Connecticut’s first two senators where he played an important role in passing legislation that further shaped our government and the courts. He was the lead author of the Judiciary Act of 1789 which established the federal judiciary and Supreme Court.

Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut (28 October 2023)

Before nominating Ellsworth as Chief Justice, President Washington offered the job to Associate Justice William Cushing. In another nod to how the position was viewed, Cushing said, ‘No thanks.’

Ellsworth was the third and last Chief Justice to resign from the position. All subsequent Chiefs either retired or died on the job. It seemed a sign that the early court did not do very much for the new nation or there were more pressing needs for the principal players. While Ellsworth was Chief Justice, President Adams appointed him special envoy to France. It was a time when Napoleon’s government began messing with American shipping and war was threatened. The strain of the overseas work led to serious illness and his resignation from the Court. Next to his predecessor John Rutledge’s 138 days on the job, Ellsworth had the shortest tenure as Chief Justice.

Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut (28 October 2023)

Palisado Cemetery - Windsor’s “Burying Place” 

was first laid out in 1637.

The Ellsworth Court did move it toward confirming its role in judicial review – the duty of the court to confirm actions by other government entities. The Chief Justice is also responsible for changing the former practice of seriatim, where each judge wrote and read an opinion. Since then, a single majority opinion is written and delivered on behalf of the court.

Grave of Oliver Ellsworth,

Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut (28 October 2023)

It is unfortunate that so many grave markers used stone that does not weather well. All the inscriptions on the flat, horizontal markers have worn away and the upright marble engravings are getting more difficult to read. There are two plaques on his monument that extol the departed statesman.

First tablet -

In the memory of

OLIVER ELLSWORTH L.L.D.

An assistant in the Council and

a Judge of the Superior Court

of the State of Connecticut. A

member of the Convention which

formed and of the State Convention

of Connecticut which adopted

the Constitution of the United States.

Senator and Chief Justice

of the United States,

one of the Envoys Extraordinary

and Ministers Plenipotentiary

who made the convention of 1800

between the United States

and the French Republic.

Second tablet –

Admirable and exemplary

in all the relations of the domestic,

social, and Christian character:

pre-eminently useful

in all the offices he sustained.

whose great talents

under the guidance of

inflexible integrity,

consummate wisdom

and enlightened zeal

placed him among the first

of the Illustrious Statesmen

who achieved the independence

and established the government

of the American Republic.

Born at Windsor April 29, 1745

and died Nov. 26, 1807.

Grave of Oliver Ellsworth,

Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut (28 October 2023)

Name – Oliver Ellsworth

Born – 29 April 1745, Windsor, CT

Died – 26 November 1807, Windsor, CT (Age 62)

Nominated by – George Washington

Preceded by – John Rutledge

Succeeded by – John Marshall

Served as Chief Justice – 8 March 1796 – 15 December 1800

(4 years, 282 days)

Resting Place – Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, CT

Date Visited – 28 October 2023