William Cranch (1769–1855)
Cranch was reporter of decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court for part of Bushrod Washington's tenure as associate justice.
William Cranch, federal judge and nephew of Abigail Adams, was born on 17 July 1769 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard with cousin John Quincy Adams, read law, and set up practice in his home state. In 1794 Cranch moved to Washington, D.C., as an agent for a real estate firm. Seven years later, President John Adams appointed him to the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.
"William Cranch." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310015431/UHIC?u=viva_uva&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=412a7a3f. Accessed 15 July 2023.
"To Thomas Jefferson from William Cranch, 19 December 1801," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-36-02-0089. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 36, 1 December 1801–3 March 1802, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009, pp. 164–165.]
"Enclosure: William Cranch to William Thornton, 9 May 1812," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-05-02-0020-0002. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 5, 1 May 1812 to 10 March 1813, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008, pp. 23–24.]
Berkshire County Eagle (Pittsfield, MA), 7 September 1855, page 2, column 3 (Newspapers.com).
William Cranch at Federal Judicial Center.
Judge William Cranch at Find a Grave.
Hon. William Cranch at FamilySearch.