John Bissell II


Gender:
Male
Born:
May 7, 1807
Died:
June 12, 1898
Home Town:
Utica, NY
Later Residences:
Stamford, CT
New York, NY
Marriage(s):
Martha Holley Bissell (September 5, 1830)
Biographical Notes:
John Bissell was born on May 7, 1807 to Kate and John Bissell. His brother, Edward attend the Litchfield Law School. John attended the law school from 1826 to 1827.

Bissell traveled to Stamford to study in his future brother in law and LLS alumni, Charles Hawley. In 1829, Bissell passed the Bar Exam in Fairfield, CT.

On September 5, 1830 he married Martha C. Holley of Stamford. Together, they moved to New York City and he opened a law office on Wall Street. Two years later in 1832, he was given the distinction of being the first lawyer appointed as the Commissioner of Deeds for the States and Territories. In 1836, He was admitted as a Solicitor to the Court of Chancery and as an attorney to New York State.

In 1824, he passed away and is interred next to his wife in New Woodlawn Cemetery in Stamford, CT.




Education
Years at school:
LLS: 1826-1827; LFA: 1821-1822
Other Education:
Attended the Litchfield Female Academy from 1821-1822.

Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
Fairfield County, CT in 1829
Training with Other Lawyers:
He studied at the law office of his future brother in-law, and former Litchfield Law School student, Charles Hawley in Stamford, CT.
Federal Posts:
Commissioner of Deeds for the States and Territories of the U.S. 1832
State Posts:
Solicitor to the Court of Chancery (NY) 1836


Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
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:
Woodruff, George Catlin. "LLS Notes." (Litchfield Historical Society).

Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School, Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849, 21.

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