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Famous Missouri

Roswell M. Field (1807 – 1869)

Roswell M. Field (1807-1869)

Roswell M. Field was a prominent lawyer in St. Louis. He was also the father of journalist and poet Eugene Field. He is best remembered as an attorney for the slaves Dred and Harriet Scott. Roswell Field filed their suit for freedom in 1853 in the federal court after six years of futile litigation under the direction of other lawyers in the Missouri courts. Working free of charge, Field prepared the case for the United States Supreme Court. Montgomery Blair argued the case in Washington, DC.

Portrait of Roswell M. Field

[SHS 028674]

References:
  • Bay, W. V. N. Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar of Missouri. St. Louis: F. H. Thomas, 1878.
  • Fish, Judge Frank L. "Roswell M. Field." Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society. St. Albans, VT: The Society, 1923.
  • Gray, Melvin L. "Recollections of Judge Roswell M. Field." In The History of the Bench and Bar of Missouri, ed. A. J. D. Stewart. St. Louis: Legal Publishing, 1898.
Famous Missourians : Leaders & Activists : Roswell M. Field (1807 – 1869)


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