Horace Binney | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Horn |
| Succeeded by | Joseph R. Ingersoll |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1780-01-04)January 4, 1780 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 12, 1875(1875-08-12) (aged 95) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Anti-Jacksonian (Before 1833) Whig (1833–1856) |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Cox |
| Relatives | Barnabas Binney (father) Horace Binney Wallace (nephew) Horace Binney Sargent (nephew) Mary Cadwalader Rawle Jones (great-granddaughter) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
Horace Binney (January 4, 1780 – August 12, 1875) was an Americanlawyer, author, and public speaker who served as anAnti-Jacksonian in theUnited States House of Representatives.[1]
Binney was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Dr.Barnabas Binney (1751–1787), a prominent Philadelphia physician who cared forDeborah Sampson. He graduated fromHarvard College in 1797, where he founded theHasty Pudding Club in 1795.[2]
Through his sister Susan Binney Wallace, he was the uncle ofHorace Binney Wallace (1817–1852), a legal critic and through his sister, Mary Sarah Binney Sargent (d. 1824), wife ofLucius Manlius Sargent (1786–1867), an author and temperance advocate, he was the uncle of well-known author andHorace Binney Sargent (1821–1908), a Civil war veteran.[1]
He then studied law in the office ofJared Ingersoll (1749–1822), who had been a member of theConstitutional convention of 1787, and who, from 1791 to 1800 and again from 1811 to 1816, was theattorney-general of Pennsylvania. In 1800, Binney was admitted to thebar in Philadelphia and practiced there with great success for half a century, and was recognized as one of the leaders of the bar in Pennsylvania and the United States.[3][4]
Between 1806 and 1807, he served in the Pennsylvania legislature. From 1833 until 1835, he served as aWhig member of theUnited States House of Representatives. While in the House of Representatives, he defended theUnited States Bank and opposed the policies of PresidentAndrew Jackson.[3][5] In 1808, Binney was elected a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society.[6]
After leaving office, he returned to the practice of law. Binney's most famous cases wereLyle v. Richards (1823), andVidal et al v. Philadelphia et al (1844). In the latter case, which involved the disposition of the fortune ofStephen Girard, he was unsuccessfully opposed byDaniel Webster. Binney's argument in this case greatly influenced the interpretation of the law of charities.[3]
Binney made many public addresses, the most noteworthy of which, entitled Life andCharacter of Chief Justice Marshall, was published in 1835. He also publishedLeaders of the Old Bar of Philadelphia, in 1858, and anInquiry into the Formation of Washingtons Farewell Address, in 1859.[3]
During theAmerican Civil War he issued three pamphlets (1861, 1862 and 1865), discussing the right ofhabeas corpus under the American Constitution, and justifying PresidentLincoln in his suspension of the writ.[3]He was elected an Associate Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1867.[7]
Binney was married to Elizabeth Cox (1783–1865), one of six daughters of John Cox, Esq. ofBloomsbury, New Jersey,[8] and descendants of the Langeveldts who originally settledNew Brunswick, New Jersey.[9] Her sister, Mary Cox, was married to the inventorJohn Stevens III (1749–1838).[8] Together, Horace and Elizabeth were the parents of:[10]
In 1865 he was elected as a Companion of the Third Class in the Commandery of Pennsylvania of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States for his support of the Union during the war.
Binney died on August 12, 1875, at the age of 95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the city of his birth. He was buried in the churchyard ofChurch of St. James the Less inPhiladelphia.[1]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Binney, Horace".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 949.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district 1833–1835 Served alongside:James Harper | Succeeded by |
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