Matthias B. Tallmadge

Matthias B. Tallmadge
1810 portrait by Ezra Ames. Currently part of Mabel Brady Garvan Collection, Yale University.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
In office 1814–1819
Appointed by	James Madison
Preceded by	Newly created seat
Succeeded by	Roger Skinner
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New York
In office 1806–1814
Appointed by	Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	John Sloss Hobart
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Member of the New York State Senate
In office 1803–1805
Personal details
Born	(1774-03-01)March 1, 1774 Stanford, New York
Died	October 1, 1819(1819-10-01) (aged 45) Poughkeepsie, New York
Resting place	Old Baptist Burying Ground, Poughkeepsie, New York (defunct)
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth "Eliza" Clinton (1780-1825) (m. 1803)
Children	8
Relatives	George Clinton (father in law) James Tallmadge, Jr. (brother)
Alma mater	Yale University
Profession	Attorney

Matthias Burnett Tallmadge (March 1, 1774 -– October 1, 1819) was a lawyer, statesman and federal judge from New York.

Life

Tallmadge was born in Stanford Dutchess County, New York on March 1, 1774, the son of Colonel James Tallmadge and Ann Sutherland Tallmadge. He graduated from Yale College in 1795, studied law with Ambrose Spencer, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Herkimer, New York. He married Elizabeth Clinton (1780–1825), daughter of Gov. George Clinton and they had eight children.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (Western D.) from 1803 to 1805, sitting in the 26th, 27th and 28th New York State Legislatures.

On June 12, 1805, Tallmadge received a recess appointment from President Thomas Jefferson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New York vacated by John Sloss Hobart. Formally nominated on December 20, 1805, Tallmadge was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 23, 1805, and received his commission on January 17, 1806. He served the District of New York until April 9, 1814 when he was reassigned by operation of law to become the only judge of the newly formed United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. He remained in that court until his resignation, on July 1, 1819.

Tallmadge died on October 1, 1819. His death took place at his father's home in Poughkeepsie, New York during a yellow fever epidemic. He was buried in the churchyard cemetery of Poughkeepsie's Baptist church. Many of the gravestones at that location were lost over time, and some were later moved to Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, while the graves were left undisturbed. The gravestone for one of Tallmadge's sons who died in infancy was among those that were moved; Tallmadge's was among those that were lost.

Family

In 1803, Tallmadge married Elizabeth "Eliza" Clinton (1780-1825), who was a daughter of George Clinton, the longtime Governor of New York, and later Vice President. They were the parents of eight children, four of whom survived Tallmadge:

• George Clinton Tallmadge (1804-1833), who married Julia Matilda Clinton (d. 1880)
• James S. Tallmadge (b.1805)
• Charles William Tallmadge (1807-1843)
• Cornelia Tallmadge (b. 1809)
• Theodore B. Tallmadge (1813-1842)
• Mary Rebecca Tallmadge
• Mary Elizabeth Tallmadge (1816-1817)
• Elizabeth Matthias Tallmadge (1822-1881), who married Joseph Gazzam Taylor in 1838

James Tallmadge, Jr., who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of New York was the brother of Matthias Tallmadge.

Sources

• Matthias Burnett Tallmadge at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Guide to the Matthias B. Tallmadge papers at The New York Historical Society