# Andrew G. Chatfield *American lawyer and politician from New York and Minnesota (1810–1875)* Andrew Gould Chatfield (January 27, 1810 – October 3, 1875) practiced law and held public office in New York, Wisconsin and [[Minnesota]].[^1] He was a justice of the territorial Supreme Court of [[Minnesota Territory]] from 1853 to 1857. After statehood he was named to the commission that revised the state's statutes, and he was elected a circuit judge in 1870.[^1] The record on his Minnesota career covers his territorial judgeship, his place on the four-member statute revision commission of 1863, his founding of Belle Plaine in [[Scott County, Minnesota]], and his election as Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The town of Chatfield, Minnesota bears his name. These details come from a single secondary biography. No primary record corroborates them here, so they are given as that source's account.[^1] ## Life Chatfield's parents were Enos Chatfield (1782–1858) and Hannah (Starr) Chatfield (1782–1857). He was born in Otsego County, New York, in a section of the Town of Butternuts that was split off as the Town of Morris in 1849. He took up legal studies at Painted Post in 1831 and was admitted to the bar two years later. He then opened a practice in Addison, Steuben County, New York.[^1] On June 27, 1836, he married Eunice Electa Clark Beeman (1817–1901). The couple's daughter, Cecelia Annette "Celia" (Chatfield) Irwin, lived from 1837 to 1915.[^1] Steuben County voters sent him to the New York State Assembly four times, in 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1846. The Assembly chose him Speaker pro tempore on March 7, 1846. In that role he presided while Speaker William C. Crain was absent.[^1] Chatfield relocated in 1848 to Southport, the present-day Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he resumed practicing law. Voters in Racine County, Wisconsin, elected him county judge in 1850, and he resigned from that office soon afterward.[^1] President [[Franklin Pierce]] named him in 1853 to the bench of the Supreme Court of Minnesota Territory, where he served until 1857. In 1854 he established the Town of Belle Plaine in Scott County and made his home there.[^1] In February 1863 he became one of four Commissioners to Revise the Statutes of the State of Minnesota. Voters elected him Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit in November 1870.[^1] Chatfield died at Belle Plaine on October 3, 1875. He was buried in that town, in the cemetery of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration.[^1] Levi S. Chatfield, who served as New York Attorney General, was his brother. The town of Chatfield, Minnesota takes its name from him.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Andrew Gould Chatfield, lawyer and politician active in New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota.[^1] - Justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota Territory, appointed by President Franklin Pierce in 1853 and serving until 1857.[^1] ### What - Founded the Town of Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota, in 1854.[^1] - Appointed in February 1863 as one of four Commissioners to Revise the Statutes of the State of Minnesota.[^1] ### When - Admitted to the bar in 1833. Served in the New York State Assembly in 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1846.[^1] - Elected Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit in November 1870. Died October 3, 1875.[^1] ### Where - Born in Otsego County, New York. Practiced law in Addison, Steuben County, New York, and in Southport (Kenosha), Wisconsin. Settled in and died at Belle Plaine, Minnesota.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Andrew G. Chatfield* (revision 1365501188, retrieved 2026-10-26) — secondary biographical summary of his offices, dates, family and namesake; not a primary record. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_G._Chatfield