John Cadwalader

John Cadwalader (April 1, 1805 – January 26, 1879) was an 18th-century American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served one term as a United States representative from Pennsylvania and 11 years a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Early life

Cadwalader was born on April 1, 1805, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into the prominent Cadwalader family. He was the son of Mary (née Biddle) Cadwalader (1781–1850), of the Philadelphia Biddle family, and military leader Thomas Cadwalader (1779–1841). His maternal grandfather, Clement Biddle, was also a military leader, having served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1867.

Congressional service

Cadwalader was elected as a Democrat from Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives of the 34th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1857. He was interred in Christ Church Burial Ground at the old Christ Church in Philadelphia.

Personal life

Cadwalader first married Mary Binney (1805–1831), daughter of Horace Binney, an Anti-Jacksonian United States Representative known for his public speeches; he founded the Hasty Pudding Club at Harvard. Together, Mary and John had two daughters, including:

Mary Binney Cadwalader (1829–1861), who married William Henry Rawle.

Following his first wife's death from complications of childbirth, he married Henrietta Maria Bancker (1806–1889) with whom he had six children, including:

Charles Evert Cadwalader (1839–1907), who fought in the U.S. Civil War and later became a physician. Anne Cadwalader (1842–1927), who married Rev. Henry James Rowland, eldest son of William Rowland, in 1878.

Descendants Through his eldest daughter Mary, Cadwalader was the grandfather of Mary Cadwalader Rawle (1850–1935), who was married on March 24, 1870, to Frederic Rhinelander Jones (the brother of Edith Wharton); their daughter in turn was landscape architect Beatrix Cadwalader Jones Farrand (1872–1959).

Cadwalader's grandson, John Cadwalader III (1874–1934), became trustee of the estate of his aunt Sophia Georgiana (née Fisher) Coxe (1841–1926) which funded the MMI Preparatory School.