Tapping Reeve

Tapping Reeve
Judge Tapping Reeve
Born	October 1, 1744 Brookhaven, New York
Died	December 13, 1823 Litchfield, Connecticut
Nationality	British American
Alma mater	College of New Jersey (1763)
Occupation	Lawyer
Known for	Connecticut superior court judge 1798–1814, law educator
Spouse(s)	Sarah "Sally" Burr (m. 1771; her death 1797) Elizabeth "Betsy" Thompson (m. 1799; his death 1823)
Children	Aaron Burr Reeve
Parent(s)	Abner Reeve Deborah Tapping
Relatives	Aaron Burr (brother-in-law) Aaron Burr, Sr. (father-in-law)

Tapping Reeve (sometimes presented as Tappan Reeve; October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer and law educator. In 1784, he opened the Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut, the first school to offer a comprehensive legal curriculum in the United States.

Tapping Reeve was born in Brookhaven, New York, on Long Island, to Reverend Abner Reeve (1708–1798) and Deborah Topping Reeve (1717–1759). He graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, in 1763. While earning his Masters there (completed 1766), he also served as a headmaster of the grammar school associated with the college in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey.

He was hired to privately tutor the orphaned children of the Rev. Aaron Burr, Sr., the former President of the college, and his wife Esther Edwards Burr. Tapping Reeve taught young Aaron Burr (1756–1836) and his sister Sally Burr (1754–1797) for several years. In 1771, Reeve moved to Hartford, Connecticut where he studied law with Judge Jesse Root. After developing a relationship with Sally and eventually marrying her in 1771, Reeve passed the Connecticut state bar the next year and the couple moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, where Reeve established a legal practice.

Reeve built a home on South Street across the street from Connecticut Governor Oliver Wolcott. In 1774, Aaron Burr, who had been studying the ministry under Reverend Joseph Bellamy of Bethlehem, Connecticut, moved to Litchfield to study law under Reeve. Burr's stay in town was brief. He left only a year later to join the Continental Army on the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

Reeve, while a fervent supporter of the patriot cause, did not enter active service early in the Revolutionary War. His wife's poor health kept him at home. However, in December 1776, the Connecticut Assembly called upon him to travel the state to drum up volunteers for the Continental Army. He then accepted a commission as an officer and accompanied his recruits as far as New York City before returning to his ailing wife.