Henry Elijah Ackerson Jr. (October 15, 1880 – December 9, 1970) was a State Senator from 1915 to 1919,[1] a New Jersey circuit judge from 1924 to 1947,[2] and an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1948 to 1952.[3]

Honorable
Henry E. Ackerson Jr.
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey
In office
1948 (1948)–1952 (1952)
Appointed byAlfred E. Driscoll
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byWilliam J. Brennan Jr.
New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals
In office
1924 (1924)–1947 (1947)
Succeeded byOffice eliminated
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 13th district
In office
1915 (1915)–1919 (1919)
Preceded byJohn W. Slocum
Succeeded byWilliam A. Stevens
Personal details
Born
Henry Elijah Ackerson Jr.

(1880-10-15)October 15, 1880
Holmdel Township, New Jersey
DiedDecember 9, 1970(1970-12-09) (aged 90)
Holmdel Township, New Jersey
Resting placeHolmdel Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Edith D. Calef
(m. 1912; died 1969)
Children2
ParentCornelius & Anna B. (Stillwell)
ResidenceKeyport, New Jersey
Alma materNew York Law School
OccupationBank clerk, lawyer, bank director
CommitteesRutgers, the State University - trustee
MembershipAmerican Bar Association
Royal Arcanum

Ackerson was born in Keyport on a small dairy farm in Holmdel Township, New Jersey to Cornelius and Anna B (Stillwell) Ackerson.[4] He was purported to be the namesake of his paternal grandfather. Sometime in the early 1890s, the family moved to Raritan (now Keyport), where Henry graduated from Raritan High School. By 1900, Henry was working at a local bank while attending New York Law School from 1902 until 1904 when he passed the bar in New Jersey.[3]

Ackerson resided locally until retiring in the 1950s and eventually moving into a nursing home in Holmdel where he died in 1970. He is interred at Holmdel Cemetery. The Justice Henry E. Ackerson Jr. Prize and Ackerson Hall, the home of Rutgers School of Law – Newark from 1966 to 1978 and still an academic building at Rutgers University—Newark, are named in his honour.[5]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "NORDICA'S GEMS APPRAISED.; Many Curios Among Jewels Worth $250,000 Owned by the Diva". The New York Times. 14 May 1915. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Obituary". Newspapers.com. Asbury Park Press. 18 October 1970. p. 90. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Aberdeen NJ Life: History: Henry E Ackerson (1880 – 1970) Clears Legal Hurdles for Matawan to Create Artificial Lakes (1915)". 20 April 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ^ Times, Special To The New York (11 December 1970). "Henry Ackerson of Jersey Court". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Honors, Prizes, and Awards - Rutgers School of Law-Newark". Retrieved 24 June 2016. Justice Henry E. Ackerson Jr. Prize. Awarded to the student who has most distinguished himself or herself in the area of legal skills. It was donated by Justice Ackerson and, since his death in 1970, has been continued by the Rutgers–Newark Law School Alumni Association in recognition of his unique contribution to the school.