Early Life
A son of John Stockton, one of the founders of the College of New Jersey at Princeton (now Princeton University), he was born near Princeton, New Jersey, attended Samuel Finley's academy at Nottingham, which later became West Nottingham Academy, and the College of New Jersey located in Newark, graduating in 1748. He studied law with David Ogden, of Newark, who was at that time the head of the legal profession in the province. Stockton was admitted to the bar in 1754 and soon rose to great distinction. In 1763 he received the degree of Sergeant at law the highest degree of law at that time. He was a longtime friend of George Washington. His wife was poet Annis Boudinot Stockton, sister of New Jersey statesman Elias Boudinot. The Stocktons had six children. Their son Richard Stockton became an eminent lawyer and prominent Federalist leader. Elias Boudinot was married to Stockton's sister Hannah Stockton (1736–1808).
Stockton initially showed little interest in politics. He once wrote, "The public is generally unthankful, and I never will become a Servant of it, till I am convinced that by neglecting my own affairs I am doing more acceptable Service to God and Man." Stockton did, however, take an active role as a trustee of the College of New Jersey.
Read more about this topic: Richard Stockton (Continental Congressman)
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)