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JOHN CATRON
was born of German ancestry in Pennsylvania in approximately
1786, but little is known about his early years. They
appear to have been spent in Virginia and Kentucky. There
is no record of his schooling. In 1812, Catron moved to
the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee and served under
General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. He was admitted
to the Tennessee bar in 1815, and in1818 he moved to Nashville,
Tennessee, where he established a practice specializing
in land law. In 1824, he was elected to the Supreme Court
of Errors and Appeals. In 1831, the Legislature created
the office of Chief Justice of the Court and Catron was
elected to the position. Under a further reorganization
in 1834, the position of Chief Justice was abolished.
Catron returned to private practice and became active
in national politics. When Congress expanded the Supreme
Court of the United States from seven to nine members,
President Andrew Jackson nominated Catron to one of the
new seats on March 3, 1837. The Senate confirmed the appointment
on March 8, 1837. Catron served on the Supreme Court for
twenty-eight years. He died on May 30, 1865, at the age
of seventy-nine. |
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