1744-1823 Lawyer And Educator

Background.

Tapping Reeve was born in Brookhaven on Long Island, New York, in October 1744. The son of a Presbyterian minister, Reeve graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1763. After teaching school a few years, he moved to Connecticut to study law under Judge Jesse Root. Admitted to the bar in 1772, Reeve began practicing law in Litchfield.

Public Servant.

As a young lawyer in Connecticut, Tapping Reeve took a keen interest in public affairs. By December 1776 he was a committed patriot and was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly to rouse support for the Revolution through the state. Reeve accepted an officer's commission in the Continental Army but never saw battle. He served in both the legislature and the governor's council and in 1788 was nominated the state's attorney. A fervent Federalist in the 1790s, he wrote several newspaper articles supporting...