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Lawmaker David Dudley Field

New York Attorney Who Reformed New York State Laws

Apr 25, 2008 Anya Laurence

A brief look at the man who helped to reform and revise the codes of civil, criminal and common law in the state of New York.

David Dudley Field was born to Submit Dickinson Field and the Rev. David Dudley Field on February 13, 1805 in Haddam , Connecticut, and the young child went on to become celebrated for his influence on the reform of the judicial system in the state of New York. He was the brother of Stephen Johnson Field, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1863-1897 and Cyrus West Field , who was instrumental in the laying of the Atlantic Cable.

Education

Field was educated in the local schools and at the age of nine his father started to teach him Latin, Greek and mathematics. He entered Williams College when he was sixteen and four years later began to study law at Albany, New York, with Harmanus Bleecker. He was admitted to the bar in 1828 and in 1929 entered practice in New York City.

First Marriage

He married Jane Lucinda Hopkins on October 26, 1829 and fathered three children, Dudley, Jeanie and isabella. Mrs.Field died of consumption in 1836 and the youngest child died three months later. Three months after his wife's death Field travelled to Europe, visiting most countries including Russia. Upon his return he published "Five Sketches Over The Sea," which appeared in the Democratic Review.

Law Reform

He was deeply involved in law reform, and in 1842 he prepared three bills:

For the more simple and speedy administration of justice in civil cases in the Court of Common Law
The second for the same to be administered in the Courts of Equity
The third was to simplify indictments.

In 1846 he wrote a series of articles for the New York Evening Post on the Reorganization of the Judiciary. He was appointed as one of the Commissioners on Practice and Pleadings by the New York State legislature, and in 1949 the Commissioners completed their work and submitted a revised Code of Civil Procedure and a Code of Criminal Procedure. In 1857 he was once again appointed as one of the Commissioners to prepare a Political Code; a Penal Code and a Civil Code. The completed project was submitted in 1859.

Second Marriage

On September 2, 1841, David Dudley Field married Mrs. Harriet Davidson, the widow of James Davidson, Esq. They resided in New York City on the edge of Gramercy Park .Field continued his law practice for many years, and in 1854 received his son, Dudley Field, into his practice as a partner. Field died in New York City on April 13, 1894.

Source:The Family of David Dudley Field,D.D., of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, by Henry M.Field, Privately Printed, 1860.

Henriette Deluzy Desportes

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David Dudley Field