William woodbridge
Portrait of William Woodbridge
Henry Inman

William Woodbridge

Gender:
Male
Born:
August 20, 1780
Died:
October 20, 1861
Home Town:
Norwich, CT
Later Residences:
Marietta, OH
Marriage(s):
Juliana Trumbull Woodbridge (1805)
Biographical Notes:
William Woodbridge was the son of Dudley and Lucy (Backus) Woodbridge. When his family moved west in 1789, he and his brother were left behind to finish their schooling. After attending the Litchfield Law School, Woodbridge then joined his family in Marietta, OH where he continued his legal studies.

Woodbridge spent many years as the county prosecuting attorney serving Marietta, OH. He also served in the Ohio state legislature. He relocated to the Michigan territory where Woodbridge became highly influential within the fledgling Michigan government. In 1824, he was appointed Secretary of the Michigan Territory. Later as Michigan's first delegate to Congress, he worked on a boundary dispute between Michigan and Ohio. Woodbridge declined a second term as delegate for Michigan.

Woodbridge ...
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Education
Years at LLS:
1802
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
1804 in Litchfield County Court; Ohio in 1806
Training with Other Lawyers:
He studied law with Judge Jeremiah Smith at Exeter, NH and Samuel Dana in Boston, MA.
Political Party:
Whig
Federal Posts:
U.S. Representative (MI) 1819-1820
U.S. Senator (MI) 1841-1847
Federal Committees:
Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands in the 28th Congress. Committee on Patents and Patent Office for the 29th Congress.
State Posts:
State Representative (OH) 1807
State Senator (OH) 1808-1814
Governor (MI) 1840-1841
Collector of Customs MI Territory (MI Territory) 1814-1829
Secretary (MI Territory) 1814-1828
Judge (MI Territory) 1828
Judge of Supreme Court (MI Territory) 1828-1832
State Senator (MI) 1838-1839
State Committees:
Delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention in 1835.
Local Posts:
Prosecuting Attorney (New London County, OH) 1808-1814
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
Other:
Litchfield County, Litchfield County Court Papers by Subject: Admissions to the Bar
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany, and Company, 1849.
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