Preceded by Oliver Arnold Name Henry Marchant | Preceded by new seat | |
 | ||
Governor Joseph WantonNicholas Cooke Occupation Deputy, Assistant, Attorney General Resting place Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery | ||
Succeeded by William Ellery Channing | ||
Henry Marchant (April 9, 1741 – August 30, 1796) was American lawyer from Newport, Rhode Island and United States federal judge. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1779, and was a signer of the Articles of Confederation for Rhode Island.
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Biography
Born in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Marchant received an A.M. from the College of Philadelphia, now the University of Pennsylvania in 1762. He read law to enter the bar in 1767, and was in private practice in Newport, Rhode Island from 1767 to 1777. Marchant was the state attorney general of Rhode Island from 1771 to 1777. He returned to private practice while also farming, in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, from 1780 to 1784. Marchant was a Delegate to the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1784 to 1790.
On July 2, 1790, Marchant was nominated by President George Washington to be the first judge of the newly created United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Marchant was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 3, 1790, and received his commission the same day, serving until his death in 1796.
He was a member of Second Congregational Church of Newport. His farm, the Henry Marchant Farm, is located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Marchant died in Newport, Rhode Island and is buried in the city's Common Burial Ground.