Samuel Witham Stockton was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer, diplomat and public servant who served as Secretary of State of New Jersey

Secretary of State of New Jersey

The Secretary of State of New Jersey is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state....

 from 1794 to 1795.

Biography

Stockton was born in 1751, the youngest of the eight children of John Stockton and his wife Abigail, at Morven, the family estate in Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

. He was the brother of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

.

Stockton studied law at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

), receiving a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1767 and a Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree in 1770. In 1775 he went to London to continue his legal studies and was still abroad when the Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 broke out.

Remaining in Europe, he served as secretary to William Lee

William Lee (diplomat)

William Lee was an American diplomat during the Revolutionary War.-Background:He was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Hon. Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell...

 in 1777 when the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 appointed Lee commissioner at the Courts of Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 and Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in an unsuccessful attempt to win the support of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 in the war. In 1778 Stockton was instrumental in negotiating a secret treaty between the United States and the Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic

The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 that, when discovered by the British, sparked the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War

Fourth Anglo-Dutch War

The Fourth Anglo–Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, tangentially related to the American Revolutionary War, broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that...

. He returned to New Jersey in 1779.

He unsuccessfully ran for secretary of the House of Representatives

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...

 when the 1st United States Congress

1st United States Congress

-House of Representatives:During this congress, five House seats were added for North Carolina and one House seat was added for Rhode Island when they ratified the Constitution.-Senate:* President: John Adams * President pro tempore: John Langdon...

 was organized in 1789.

In 1792 he was an Alderman of Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...

. In 1794 he was named Secretary of State of New Jersey

Secretary of State of New Jersey

The Secretary of State of New Jersey is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state....

 after the death of Bowes Reed

Bowes Reed

Bowes Reed was a Revolutionary officer, politician, and public servant from New Jersey. He was the brother of Joseph Reed, a member of the Continental Congress and President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania .-Early life and career:Reed was born in 1740 in Trenton, New Jersey to...

. He died in office on June 27, 1795 at the age of 44, after being thrown from his carriage in Trenton.