An annual discourse delivered before the Historical society of Pennsylvania
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
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Thomas Mckean Pettit was an American lawyer, politician and judge.
Background
He was born on December 26, 1797 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, of Scotch-Irish and French Huguenot stock. His parents were Andrew and Elizabeth (McKean) Pettit. His father was the son of Charles Pettit, merchant and Revolutionary patriot, and his mother, the daughter of Gov. Thomas McKean. Andrew Pettit, a Philadelphia merchant and insurance man, was for many years a director of the Insurance Company of North America, and held the post of flour inspector under Governor McKean.
Education
Thomas received a classical education and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1815. Upon leaving college he studied law in the office of his uncle, Jared Ingersoll.
Career
He was admitted to the bar April 13, 1818. In 1819 and again in 1821 he was appointed secretary of the Philadelphia board of public education. He was city solicitor (1820 - 23) and on February 9, 1824, was appointed deputy attorney-general of Pennsylvania, which post he held until 1830.
He was an active member of the Hickory Club, which promoted Jackson's election to the presidency in 1824, and soon came to enjoy wide influence in the councils of the Democratic party in Pennsylvania both because of his ability and his family connections. He was elected to the lower house of the legislature in 1830 and in the following year became a member of the select council of Philadelphia.
His chief ambition, however, was a career on the bench, and on February 16, 1833, Gov. George Wolfe appointed him an associate judge of the district court for the city and county of Philadelphia. He held this office until 1835, at which time the term for which the court was constituted expired. When the legislature passed a new law extending the life of the court for ten years more he was recommissioned associate judge, March 30, 1835, and on the following April 22 was appointed presiding judge, serving in this capacity until 1845.
He declined reappointment on the expiration of his term and returned to his law practice. During Van Buren's administration, 1839, he was one of the board of visitors to West Point, and, together with Gov. William L. Marcy of New York, prepared the report of the board.
Under President Polk he was United States district attorney for the eastern Pennsylvania district (1845 - 49). On March 29, 1853, President Pierce appointed him superintendent of the Philadelphia mint and the appointment was confirmed on April 4, but his duties at this post were cut short by his death a month and a half later.
Pettit's published writings and speeches include A Discourse before the Historical Society and the Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania (1830); "Memoir of Roberts Vaux" (1840); and The Common Law Reports of England (1822), the last named having been prepared for publication in collaboration with Thomas Sergeant.
He died in 1853.
Achievements
Thomas Mckean Pettit entertained broad ideas on popular education and worked earnestly for its advancement as a citizen, while in the legislature, and as a member of the Philadelphia board of education. He manifested a deep interest in the history of Pennsylvania and was one of the most active members of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was also the author of An Annual Discourse Delivered before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; and The Common Law Reports of England.
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
Politics
Although a member of the intellectual aristocracy, he adhered to the traditional party affiliations of his family and became a Jacksonian Democrat.
Personality
Pettit's judicial decisions reflect a high degree of ability and broad legal training. By temperament he was well fitted for the bench. Because of his patience and composure and his willingness to compromise he was not the stormy petrel in state politics that his grandfather, Governor McKean, had been.
Connections
He married February 7, 1828 Sarah Barry Dale, daughter of Commodore Richard Dale, distinguished naval officer. She died in 1839. Of their seven children, three survived him.
