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FREEBORN G. JEWETT was born
in Sharon, Connecticut in 1791. He
studied law with Henry Swift in Dutchess County, and completed his studies
in the office of Colonel Young of Baliston,
New York. He was admitted as an attorney
in 1814, and as a counselor in 1817. He commenced the practice of law with the
Hon. James Porter in Skaneateles,
Onondaga County, New York.
Governor Tompkins appointed him a Master in Chancery in 1817. In 1822, Governor DeWitt Clinton appointed him an Examiner in Chancery, a position to which he was reappointed by Governors Yates and Throop. In February 1824, Governor Clinton appointed him Surrogate of Onondaga County. He was reappointed by Governor Yates in 1827 and held this office until 1831. Chief Judge Jewett was a member of the Assembly from Onondaga County in 1826. He was a Presidential Elector and cast his vote for Andrew Jackson for President in 1828. In 1831, he was elected a Representative to the Twenty-Second Congress. Two years later, he declined renomination. In 1832, he was admitted as an attorney and counselor of the Supreme Court of the United States. Governor Marcy appointed him a Supreme Court Commissioner for the County of Onondaga, to which office he was reappointed in 1838. In 1839 he was appointed District Attorney of Onondaga County, and filled that office for about six months. He was then appointed Puisne |
Justice by
Governor Wright on March 5, 1845.
When the Court of Appeals was created by the Constitution of 1846, he was elected a Judge of the Court and designated to serve for a two-year term. He was chosen by law as the first Chief Judge. He was re-elected as a Judge of the Court of Appeals in 1849 for an eight-year term. His opinions show him to have been a well-grounded lawyer, a patient investigator and a clear and discriminating writer, and decisions authored by him were often cited in other code states. Excellent examples of his writing can be seen in French v Garhart (1 NY 96), concerning a reservation in a deed, and Van Lueven v Lyke (1 NY 515), holding that where a domestic animal is in the close of another animal, and commits mischief there, the owner is liable. His resignation from the Court in June 1853 was due to ill health, and he died in Skaneateles in January 1858. In a memorial, the Judges of the Court stated:
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 The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York | ||
