THE NUMBER (1) indicates the Chief Justice; the other numbers show the order in which the original members of the Court were appointed, and then the order of succession. For example, if we follow the number (4) we see that James Wilson was succeeded first by Bushrod Washington, then by Henry Baldwin, and so on.
Many of those who have served on the nation's highest court have either not been well served by biographers or have been outright ignored. There are good sources for biographical and analytical essays on these, and in fact on all the justices. The most recent scholarship is contained in the essays in Melvin I. Urofsky, ed., The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary (1994). Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, eds., The Justices of the United States Supreme Court, 1789–1978: Their Lives and Major Opinions 5 vols. (1969–1980) is still useful, and also has some of the more important opinions.
(1) John Jay (1745–1829); Federalist from New York; served 1789–1795; resigned.
(2) john Rutledge (1739–1800); Federalist from South Carolina; appointed 1789; resigned 1791 without ever sitting.
(3) William Cushing (1732–1810); Federalist from Massachusetts; served 1789–1810; died.
(4) James Wilson (1742–1798); Federalist from Pennsylvania; served 1789–1798; died.
(5) John Blair, Jr. (1732–1800); Federalist from Virginia; served 1789–1796; resigned.
(6) James Iredell (1751–1799); Federalist from North Carolina; served 1790–1799; died.
(2) Thomas Johnson (1732–1819); Federalist from Maryland; served 1791–1793; resigned.
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