Edward Wallace Scudder (August 12, 1822 – February 3, 1893) was a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1869 until his death.[1]
He graduated from Princeton University in 1841 and then studied law with the Hon. William L. Dayton. He was admitted as an attorney in 1844, and called to the bar in 1848; Scudder was elected to the New Jersey Senate, and served his term there of three years, ending in 1865, the last year serving as president.
He was appointed judge by Governor of New Jersey Theodore Fitz Randolph in 1869, by Governor Joseph D. Bedle in 1876, reappointed by Governor George C. Ludlow in 1883, and by Governor Leon Abbett in 1890.[2]
He died February 3, 1893, and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Birkner, Michael J.; Linky, Donald; Mickulas, Peter (10 February 2014). The Governors of New Jersey: Biographical Essays. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813571775. Retrieved 26 June 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ A. O. Zabriskie; et al. (1894). Reports of Cases Argued And Determined In The Supreme Court And At Law In The Court Of Errors And Appeals Of The State Of New Jersey. Vol. 55.
Judge Scudder was born in the county of Mercer. He passed his whole life here—not only in New Jersey, but almost entirely in this neighborhood—and no one has ever passed his life among a people who loved and respected him more than Judge Scudder was loved and respected by the people who knew him best. He was born August 12th, 1822; he was graduated at the Princeton College in 1841, and then studied law with the Hon. William L. Dayton; he was admitted as an attorney in 1844, and called to the bar in 1848; he was elected to the senate of New Jersey, and served his term there of three years, ending in 1865. The last year he was president of that body. He was appointed judge by Governor Randolph in 1869, by Governor Bedle in 1876, reappointed by Governor Ludlow in 1883, and by Governor Abbett in 1890. "Judge Scudder's most remarkable characteristics, perhaps, were modesty and unselfishness. He was sincere; he was honest; he was diligent; he was patient; he was faithful; which qualities make a good man and a great judge. Although he was modest, he was firm; although he was kind and gentle, he was courageous. The rule of his life was fear naught but God, hate naught but sin. Loving always that which was straightforward, he despised all trickery and sharp practice in his profession. The surest road to his confidence was perfect candor and sincerity. He was an excellent practitioner at the bar, which made him a most successful judge of the Circuit, and also in the branch court. He was a man of excellent judgment, and for that reason he was a most useful member of the court of last resort. "Mourned by all who knew him—an example of private virtue and goodness, as much to be admired as his professional character—he fell asleep peacefully in the midst of those who knew him best and loved him most.