Governor William Pennington

WILLIAM PENNINGTON was the 13th governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, during which he served as the first Republican Speaker of the House from 1860 to 1861. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1813 and then studied law with Theodore Frelinghuysen. He was admitted to the bar in 1817 and served as a clerk of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (where his father was a judge) from 1817 to 1826. His father, William Sanford Pennington was a Revolutionary War veteran and was himself Governor of New Jersey from 1813 to 1815 before President Madison appointed him as a federal judge.