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James Christie Esten

Gender:
Male
Born:
1772
Died:
August 9, 1838
Later Residences:
London, England
St. George, Bermuda
Marriage(s):
Esther Palmer Esten (1800)
Biographical Notes:
James Christie Esten was the son of John Esten. He was born either in Bermuda or Montreal, Canada. He graduated from Yale in 1792 and then attended the Litchfield Law School, being one of the few foreign students to study at the school. Esten attended Yale with James Gould and Asa Bacon. After attending the Law School, Esten returned to Bermuda where he became the Solicitor General, Attorney General, Judge Advocate and Chief Justice of the Bermuda Isles in 1804. He held this position until 1836. He died in Toronto, Canada at the home of his son, where he had recently arrived after having been in England.

Esten authored a pamphlet titled "A plan for the religious, moral, and general instruction, and the beneficial management of the concerns of the emancipated people of colour of the ...
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Education
Years at LLS:
1792
Other Education:
Graduated from Yale College in 1792.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Political Office
Federal Posts:
Chief Justice (Bermuda) 1804-1836
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:
Obituary, Litchfield Enquirer August 30, 1838
Secondary Sources:
Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College with Annals of College History, Vol. 5. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1911.
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