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Stephen Cleaveland
Gender:
Male
Born:
September 26, 1792
Died:
January 3, 1847
Home Town:
Bethel, VT
Later Residences:
Poughkeepsie, NY
Marriage(s):
Deborah Vaughan Cleaveland (July 26, 1819)
Biographical Notes:
Stephen Cleaveland was the son of Stephen and Hannah (Huntington) Cleaveland. His father was a solider in the Revolutionary War as well as a blacksmith. Cleaveland began college in Burlington, VT but left to serve as an officer in the War of 1812. After attending the Litchfield Law School, he studied the law with Judge George Bloom of Poughkeepsie, NY. They formed a partnership in 1818. Cleaveland had many important clients including the Governor of New York, the Vice President of the United States and a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Cleaveland was also the President of the Trustee of Poughkeepsie Village. In 1830, he became the owner and editor of Poughkeepsie Gazette. He also organized the Trinity Land Company in 1832 to colonize lands on Trinity River in Texas through a contract with the Mexican government. He and his wife had three sons. He died in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Education
Years at LLS:
1816-1817
Other Education:
Briefly attended college in Burlington, VT, and graduated from Union College in 1815.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Editor; Business
Admitted To Bar:
New York in 1818
Training with Other Lawyers:
He studied with Judge George Bloom of Poughkeepsie, NY.
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
Related Objects and Documents
Other:
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:
Handwritten list by William Samuel Johnson, "Catalogue of the Students at Law in the school at Litchfield Conn. at & after Aug. 15th 1817..", Connecticut Historical Society, Johnson Family Papers, 1722-1863, Box - Johnson Papers.
Catalogue of the Litchfie
Catalogue of the Litchfie
Secondary Sources:
Cleveland, Edmunds J. & Horace G., compilers. Genealogy of the Cleveland & Cleaveland Families, vol. I. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1899
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