John Rutledge

John Rutledge (September 1739-July 18, 1800) was Governor of South Carolina, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and served on the U.S. Supreme Court (Chief Justice from August to December 1795). He was the elder brother of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Childhood and family

Rutledge was born into a large family at or near Charleston, South Carolina, and received his early education from his father, an Irish immigrant and physician, and from an Anglican minister and a tutor. After studying law at London's Middle Temple in 1760, he was admitted to English practice. But, almost at once, he sailed back to Charleston to begin a fruitful legal career and to amass a fortune in plantations and slaves. Three years later, he married Elizabeth Grimke, who eventually bore him 10 children, and moved into a townhouse, where he resided most of the remainder of his life.

Related Topics:
Charleston - South Carolina - Irish - Immigrant - Physician - Anglican - Minister - London - Middle Temple - 1760 - Plantation - Slave - Elizabeth Grimke

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