George P. Fisher

George P. Fisher
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
In office March 11, 1863 – May 1, 1870
Appointed by	Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	David Campbell Humphreys
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's At-large district
In office March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1863
Preceded by	William G. Whiteley
Succeeded by	William Temple
Attorney General of Delaware
In office 1855–1860
Preceded by	Willard Saulsbury, Sr.
Succeeded by	Alfred Wooten
Member of the Delaware House of Representatives
In office 1843-1844
Personal details
Born	October 13, 1817 Milford, Delaware
Died	February 10, 1899 (aged 81) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Whig Republican
Residence	Dover, Delaware
Alma mater	Dickinson College
Profession	lawyer

George Purnell Fisher (October 13, 1817 – February 10, 1899) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and later the Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Attorney General of Delaware, as Secretary of State of Delaware, as U.S. Representative from Delaware, and as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

Early life and education

Fisher was born in Milford, Delaware, on October 13, 1817.^[1][2]

He attended local public schools and at the age of 17 entered Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland.^[1][2] One year later, he entered the sophomore class at Dickinson College, where he graduated in July 1838.^[1][2] He then read law with John M. Clayton, then the chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.^[1]

Career

Fisher was admitted to the bar in April 1841 and began practicing in Dover, soon developing a thriving practice.^[1][2]

He served two terms in the Delaware House of Representatives, in 1843 and 1844.^[1] Governor Joseph Maull, who had recently taken office, appointed Fisher as Secretary of State of Delaware in March 1846.^[1][2] In 1847, Fisher also became an aide-de-camp to Major General Nathaniel Young, commander of the Delaware militia.^[1] In 1849, Fisher worked in Washington with William Hunter, as a confidential clerk to Secretary of State John M. Clayton.^[1] Fisher assisted in negotiating the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty with Great Britain.^[1]

In 1850, Fisher was appointed by President Zachary Taylor to be a commissioner to adjudicate claims against Brazil; Fisher served in this role until 1852.^[1] In 1855, Fisher was appointed Delaware Attorney General; he served until 1860, when he was elected to the 37th Congresss, serving from March 4, 1861 to March 3, 1863.^[1] Fisher was elected on a People's Party ticket, which stood in for the Republicans in Delaware.^[1] In Congress, Fisher supported Abraham Lincoln's compensated emancipation proposal, but failed to find someone in the Delaware General Assembly willing to introduce it.^[1][3] Fisher ran for re-election in 1862, but lost.^[1]

On October 13, 1862, Fisher was commissioned as a colonel of the First Delaware Cavalry.^[1] His service was brief, however, because he was nominated by President Lincoln on March 10, 1863, to a seat on the newly created Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.^[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate and received his commission the next day. In 1867, Fisher presided over the trial of John H. Surratt, one of the Lincoln assassination conspirators.^[1] In May 1, 1870, Fisher resigned as judge to accept an appointment as district attorney for the District of Columbia, serving until 1875.^[1]

Finally, Fisher returned to Dover, where (according to his biography by Charles Brown Lore) he had "no intention of again entering public life."^[1][2] However, he was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison in mid-1889 to be the First Auditor of the Treasury Department, in which capacity he served until the end of the Harrison administration, on March 23, 1893.^[1][2]

Fisher "then returned to the home of his childhood, lived quietly in his extensive library, and devoted the last years of his life to reading and literary pursuits."^[2] Fisher died in Washington on February 10, 1899, after a short illness, at the age of eighty-one.^[2]

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. Members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State Senators have a four-year term and State Representatives have a two-year term. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and also have a two-year term.

Public Offices
Office	Type	Location	Began office	Ended office	notes
State Senate	Legislature	Dover	January 6, 1843	January 6, 1845
State Senate	Legislature	Dover	January 6, 1845	January 5, 1847
Secretary of State	Executive	Dover	1846	1849	Delaware
Attorney General	Executive	Dover	1855	1860	Delaware
U.S. Representative	Legislature	Washington	March 4, 1861	March 3, 1863
Supreme Court	Judiciary	Washington	March 11, 1863	1870	District of Columbia
District Attorney	Judiciary	Washington	1870	1875	District of Columbia

Delaware General Assembly service
Dates	Assembly	Chamber	Majority	Governor	Committees	District
1843	62nd	State Senate	Whig	William B. Cooper		Sussex at-large
1845	63rd	State Senate	Whig	Thomas Stockton Joseph Maull William Temple		Sussex at-large

United States Congressional service
Dates	Congress	Chamber	Majority	President	Committees	Class/District
1861-1862	37th	U.S. House	Republican	Abraham Lincoln		at-large

Election results
Year	Office		Subject	Party	votes	%		Opponent	Party	votes	%
1860	U.S. Representative		George P. Fisher	Republican	7,732	48%		Benjamin T. Biggs	Democratic	7,485	47%
1862	U.S. Representative		George P. Fisher	Republican	8,014	50%		William Temple	Democratic	8,051	50%

References

1. Richard F. Miller, States at War, Volume 4: A Reference Guide for Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey in the Civil War (University Press of New England, 2015), p. 196.
2. Charles Brown Lore, The Life and Character of George P. Fisher (1902), p. 13.
3. Russell Frank Weigley, A Great Civil War: A Military and Political History, 1861-1865 (Indiana University Press, 2000), p. 170.

• Martin, Roger A.. (2003). Delawareans in Congress, the House of Representatives 1789-1900. ISBN 0-924117-26-5.

External links

• George P. Fisher at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• Delaware’s Members of Congress
• Find a Grave
• The Political Graveyard