John P. Stockton

John Potter Stockton (August 2, 1826 – January 22, 1900) was a New Jersey politician who served in the United States Senate as a Democrat. He was New Jersey Attorney General for twenty years (1877 to 1897), and served as United States Minister to the Papal States from 1858 to 1861.

The scion of a family long prominent in New Jersey government and politics, John P. Stockton was a native of Princeton, New Jersey, and an 1843 graduate of Princeton University. After studying law, attaining admission to the bar, and practicing in Princeton and Trenton, in 1858 Stockton was appointed as Minister to the Papal States. He served until 1861, and returned home after the Republican administration of Abraham Lincoln came to power following the 1860 presidential election.

In March 1865, Stockton was elected to the U.S. Senate. In March 1866, the Senate voted to remove him after his election was contested on the grounds that he had been chosen by a plurality of the New Jersey legislature, rather than a majority. He returned to the Senate in 1869 and served one six-year term, March 1869 to March 1875. After losing renomination to the Senate in 1875, in 1877 he was appointed as state attorney general, a position he continued to hold until he retired in 1897.

Stockton died in New York City on January 22, 1900. He was buried at Princeton Cemetery.

Early life Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Stockton was the son of Navy officer and Senator Robert F. Stockton and Harriet M. (Potter) Stockton. He was the grandson of Richard Stockton (1764-1828) and great-grandson of Richard Stockton (1730-1781), both prominent New Jersey politicians. John Stockton was educated privately and graduated from Princeton University, then known as the College of New Jersey, in 1843.

Start of career Stockton studied law with his cousin Richard Stockton Field, was admitted to the bar in 1846, and practiced in Princeton and Trenton. Edward Newton Perkins and his party were staying at a hotel Perugia when members of the Pope's army stormed the city on June 20, 1859.

Republican Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election and began to make new appointments to diplomatic posts after taking office in 1861. Stockton resigned, and returned to New Jersey to resume the practice of law. Most of the senators who voted for Stockton's removal wanted to ensure the closely divided Senate would be able to override Democratic President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction era vetoes by replacing Stockton with a Republican. Congress later passed a law requiring state legislative majorities in elections for U.S. Senators, resolving the question of whether a plurality was sufficient.

In 1869, Stockton was again elected to the Senate, and he served one term, March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1875. According to news accounts of the break-in, the burglars found nothing of value to steal, and contented themselves with upending the home's furniture and dressing the Stockton family's brooms in their old clothes. In January 1875, Stockton was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination, and he left the Senate at the end of his term.

Later career Stockton served as New Jersey Attorney General from April 8, 1877 to April 5, 1897. He was interred at Princeton Cemetery in Princeton.

Family In 1845, Stockton married Sarah Marks (1829-1887). Sarah Marks Stockton later observed that she was never accepted in Princeton's social circles, even after she began worshipping as an Episcopalian.

The Stocktons were the parents of: Robert Field (1847-1891); John Potter (1852-1927); Sarah (Saidee) (1853-1868); Richard (1858-1929); and Julia Stockton St. John (1861-1905).