Henry William DeSaussure
| Henry William de Saussure | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Director of the United States Mint | |
|
In office July 1795 – October 1795 |
|
| Preceded by | David Rittenhouse |
| Succeeded by | Elias Boudinot |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 16, 1763 Pocotaligo, Jasper County, South Carolina |
| Died | March 26, 1839 (aged 75) Columbia, South Carolina |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ford of Morristown, New Jersey |
| Residence | Charleston and Columbia |
| Alma mater | Princeton College |
| Occupation | lawyer, politician, jurist, college founder and trustee |
Henry William de Saussure (August 16, 1763 – March 26, 1839) was an American lawyer, state legislator and jurist from South Carolina who became a political leader as a member of the Federalist Party following the Revolutionary War. He was appointed by President George Washington as the 2nd Director of the United States Mint, was a co-sponsor of the legislation that established the South Carolina College which was to become the University of South Carolina and was given the title of Chancellor as a justice of the SC Equity Court, also known as chancery court. In this capacity he wrote and codified much of the state's equity law still in use today. He served as Intendant (Mayor) of Charleston while his son, William Ford de Saussure, likewise, served as Intendant (Mayor) of Columbia, SC.
He was a principal investor in founding what was originally intended to be the city's Federalist leaning newspaper, the Charleston Courier in 1803. The newspaper still exists today as it was merged with others over the course of two centuries to become The Post and Courier. As a sitting appellate court judge, his opinions on a variety of issues were widely published under a pseudonym, which was the custom then for public officials, particularly judges, who wished to express their views away from the bench. His opinions were highly critical of the summary abridgment of rights of the accused during the Denmark Vesey trials, purportedly in the name of public safety. He and others like him suspected there was less substance to the charges of a conspiracy to organize a slave revolt than the public in Charleston was being led to believe.
...
Wikipedia