Isaac S. Pennybacker
Encyclopedia
Isaac Samuels Pennybacker (September 3, 1805 January 12, 1847) was an American
lawyer, federal judge
, and politician from Harrisonburg, Virginia
.
, Shenandoah County, Virginia
.
He attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University
) and the Winchester Law School, run by Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
. He was then in private practice in Harrisonburg, Virginia
until 1837.
in the U.S. House
from 1837-1839.
He was offered by President Martin Van Buren
the office of Attorney General
, but declined. Similarly, he declined a position as justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
, and would not accept the nomination of the Democratic party
for Governor of Virginia
.
On April 23, 1839, Pennybacker received a recess appointment
from Van Buren to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
the death of Alexander Caldwell
. Formally nominated on January 29, 1840, Pennybacker was confirmed by the United States Senate
on February 17, 1840, and received his commission the same day.
He resigned from his judgeship on December 6, 1845, and then served as United States Senator from Virginia from 1845-1847. James K. Polk
named Pennybacker to the very first Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
, a group which included Vice-President George M. Dallas
, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
, D.C. Mayor William W. Seaton
, Senator Sidney Breese
, Rep. William J. Hough
, Rep. Robert Dale Owen
, Rep. Henry W. Hilliard
, Rufus Choate
, Richard Rush
, Dr. Benjamin Rush
, William C. Preston
, Alexander Dallas Bache
, and Joseph G. Totten
, among others, who met for the first time in September 1846.
As judge, Pennybacker was succeeded by John White Brockenbrough
. As Senator, he succeeded William Cabell Rives
, whose brother Alexander Rives
later served like Pennybacker as judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
. Pennybacker died at the age of 41 in Washington, D.C.
. His Senate seat was filled by James Murray Mason.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
, and politician from Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
.
Early life and education
Pennybacker was born at Pine Forge, near New MarketNew Market, Virginia
New Market is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It had a population of 2,146 at the 2010 census. New Market is home to the Rebels of the Valley Baseball League, and the New Market Shockers of the Rockingham County Baseball League.-History:...
, Shenandoah County, Virginia
Shenandoah County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 35,075 people, 14,296 households, and 10,064 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 16,709 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
.
He attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
) and the Winchester Law School, run by Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. was a Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman .-Biography:Tucker was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 29, 1780. As a young man, Tucker pursued classical studies at the College of William & Mary; he graduated in 1798...
. He was then in private practice in Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
until 1837.
Political and judicial career
Pennybacker represented VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the U.S. House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1837-1839.
He was offered by President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
the office of Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
, but declined. Similarly, he declined a position as justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Supreme Court of Virginia
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...
, and would not accept the nomination of the Democratic party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
.
On April 23, 1839, Pennybacker received a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
from Van Buren to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is a United States district court.Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in...
the death of Alexander Caldwell
Alexander Caldwell (Virginia)
Alexander Caldwell was a federal judge from Virginia.Caldwell read law to enter the bar in 1816. He was in private practice in Westville, Pennsylvania from 1816 to 1818, and in Missouri from 1818 to 1820, before settling in Wheeling, Virginia in 1820.On October 28, 1825, Caldwell received a...
. Formally nominated on January 29, 1840, Pennybacker was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on February 17, 1840, and received his commission the same day.
He resigned from his judgeship on December 6, 1845, and then served as United States Senator from Virginia from 1845-1847. James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
named Pennybacker to the very first Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, a group which included Vice-President George M. Dallas
George M. Dallas
George Mifflin Dallas was a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and the 11th Vice President of the United States , serving under James K. Polk.-Family and early life:...
, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. He was the first Roman Catholic to hold that office or sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the eleventh United States Attorney General. He is most...
, D.C. Mayor William W. Seaton
William Winston Seaton
William Winston Seaton was an American journalist, born in King William County, Va.From 1812 until 1860 he was, with his brother-in-law Joseph Gales, proprietor of the National Intelligencer at Washington, D.C. From 1812 until 1820 the two were the only reporters of congressional proceedings...
, Senator Sidney Breese
Sidney Breese
Sidney Breese was a U.S. Senator from Illinois, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, a forefather of Illinois, and "father of the Illinois Central Railroad".-Early life:...
, Rep. William J. Hough
William Jervis Hough
William Jervis Hough - was a United States Representative from Cazenovia, Madison County, New York.-Early life:...
, Rep. Robert Dale Owen
Robert Dale Owen
Robert Dale Owen was a longtime exponent in his adopted United States of the socialist doctrines of his father, Robert Owen, as well as a politician in the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
, Rep. Henry W. Hilliard
Henry Washington Hilliard
Henry Washington Hilliard was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.-Early life:Hilliard was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and was graduated from South Carolina College at Columbia in 1826.He studied law and moved to Athens, Georgia, where he was admitted to the bar in 1829.He was a Professor...
, Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate
Rufus Choate , American lawyer and orator, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, a descendant of an English family which settled in Massachusetts in 1643. His first cousin, physician George Choate, was the father of George C. S. Choate and Joseph Hodges Choate...
, Richard Rush
Richard Rush
Richard Rush was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the second son of Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and Julia Rush. He entered the College of New Jersey at the age of 14, and graduated in 1797 as the youngest member of his class...
, Dr. Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
, William C. Preston
William C. Preston
William Campbell Preston was a senator from the United States and a member of the Nullifier, and later Whig Parties...
, Alexander Dallas Bache
Alexander Dallas Bache
Alexander Dallas Bache was an American physicist, scientist and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey mapping of the United States coastline.-Biography:...
, and Joseph G. Totten
Joseph Gilbert Totten
Joseph Gilbert Totten fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief Engineer and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences.-Early life and education:...
, among others, who met for the first time in September 1846.
As judge, Pennybacker was succeeded by John White Brockenbrough
John White Brockenbrough
John White Brockenbrough was a Virginia lawyer, federal judge, educator, and the founder of the Washington and Lee University School of Law....
. As Senator, he succeeded William Cabell Rives
William Cabell Rives
William Cabell Rives was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from Albemarle County, Virginia. He represented Virginia as a Jackson Democrat in both the U.S. House and Senate and also served as the U.S. minister to France....
, whose brother Alexander Rives
Alexander Rives
Alexander Rives was a Virginia lawyer, politician, and federal judge.-Family and politics:Rives was born in Nelson County, Virginia. He attended Hampden-Sydney College from 1821 to 1825 when he graduated; and the University of Virginia, graduating in 1828. He was admitted to the bar and began...
later served like Pennybacker as judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is a United States district court.Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in...
. Pennybacker died at the age of 41 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. His Senate seat was filled by James Murray Mason.
Sources
- biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
- Hon. Armistead M. Dobie, "Federal District Judges in Virginia before the Civil War," 12 F.R.D. 451 (1951,1952) (viewed on Westlaw)