1789-1836
Attorney General of New York, 1821-1829
Samuel Austin Talcott, born on December 31, 1789 in Hartford, Connecticut, was a grandson of Joseph Talcott, Governor of Connecticut. He graduated from Williams College in 1809 and studied law in the office of Gold & Sill. Talcott was admitted to the bar in 1812, set up practice in Lowville, New York and four years later moved his practice to Utica, New York.
On February 12, 1821, Samuel A. Talcott was appointed Attorney-General of the State of New York and held office for eight years before resuming practice in New York City. Recognized as a leading attorney of his time, Talcott argued frequently before the New York Supreme Court and the New York Court of Chancery. He also argued, successfully, in the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Inglis v. Sailors Snug Harbor involving the law of trusts and perpetuities. The opposing counsel was Daniel Webster.
Samuel A. Talcott died on March 21, 1836 in New York City and members of the New York Bar, at a meeting held in the Supreme Court Room in the City Hall of New York on that date unanimously resolved that:
this meeting have heard with deep regret and sympathy of the death of Samuel A. Talcott, Esq., late Attorney-General of this State, that in the brilliant course of his professional life, they find much to shed honor not only upon his own name but upon the State to which he belonged, and the Bar whose reputation he elevated; that his distinguished talent, profound learning and finished scholarship have rarely been equaled and never been surpassed at the Bar of this State.
Source
Talcott Pedigree in England and America from 1558 to 1876 (1876)
Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association: The Sixteenth Annual Meeting (1915).