Richard Stockton (1764-1828)

Richard Stockton (April 17, 1764 – March 7, 1828) was a lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate and later served in the United States House of Representatives. He was the first U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, holding that office from 1789 to 1791, and ran unsuccessfully for Vice President in the 1820 election as a member of the Federalist Party, which did not nominate a candidate for President.

Life
Stockton was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the son of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was tutored privately, and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1779. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1784 and commenced practice in Princeton.

He was elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Frederick Frelinghuysen and served from November 12, 1796 to March 4, 1799, but declined to be a candidate for reelection. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 1801, 1803, and 1804. He was elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1813 to March 4, 1815, and declined to be a candidate for renomination to the Fourteenth Congress.

After leaving Congress, he resumed the practice of his profession. He died at Morven, near Princeton, and was interred in Princeton Cemetery in Princeton.

Family
His brother Lucius Horatio Stockton served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

His son was the naval officer Commodore Robert F. Stockton, who defeated the Mexican army in 1846 and became the first military governor of the State of California, and later became a Senator from New Jersey like his father before him.

His daughter Annie Stockton was the first wife of U.S. Senator John Renshaw Thomson.