William Cranch

William Cranch
Chief Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
In office
February 24, 1806  September 1, 1855
Appointed byThomas Jefferson
Preceded byWilliam Kilty
Succeeded byJames Dunlop
Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
In office
March 3, 1801  February 24, 1806
Appointed byJohn Adams
Preceded bySeat established by 2 Stat. 103
Succeeded byAllen Bowie Duckett
2nd Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
1801–1815
Preceded byAlexander J. Dallas
Succeeded byHenry Wheaton
7th Commissioner of the Federal City
In office
January 14, 1801  March 3, 1801
Preceded byGustavus Scott
Succeeded byTristram Dalton
Personal details
Born(1769-07-17)July 17, 1769
Weymouth,
Province of Massachusetts Bay,
British America
DiedSeptember 1, 1855(1855-09-01) (aged 86)
Washington, D.C.
Resting placeCongressional Cemetery
Washington, D.C.
Political partyFederalist
SpouseNancy Greenleaf (m. 1795)
Children4 (including Christopher Pearse Cranch and
John Cranch)
Parent(s)Richard Cranch
Mary Smith
RelativesWilliam Greenleaf Eliot (son in law)
Henry Ware Eliot (grandson)
T. S. Eliot (great-grandson)
EducationHarvard University
Signature

William Cranch (July 17, 1769 – September 1, 1855) was a United States circuit judge and chief judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. A staunch Federalist and nephew of President John Adams, Cranch moved his legal practice from Massachusetts to the new national capital, where he became one of three city land commissioners for Washington, D.C., and during his judicial service also was the 2nd Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States and a Professor of law at Columbian College (which later became George Washington University).