View source for Simon Greenleaf

{{Short description|United States lawyer and jurist (1783–1853)}}
[[File:SimonGreenleaf.jpg|thumb|right|Simon Greenleaf.]]
[[File:1806 - Marriage Record - Simon Greenleaf and Hannah Kingman.jpg|thumb|The March 22nd 1806 Marriage record of Simon Greenleaf and Hannah Kingman]]
'''Simon Greenleaf''' (December 5, 1783 &ndash; October 6, 1853), was an American [[lawyer]] and [[jurist]]. He was born at [[Newburyport, Massachusetts]] before moving to [[New Gloucester]] where he was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the Cumberland County bar]].
[[File:1899 - Death Record of Simon Greenleaf's daughter.jpg|thumb|1899 - Death Record of Simon Greenleaf's daughter Charlotte K. Greenleaf Fuller, showing Simon Greenleaf, his wife, and their birth places.]]

==Early life and legal career==
Greenleaf's family traces its ancestry back to Edmund Greenleaf, who lived in [[Ipswich]], [[Suffolk]] in [[England]] before emigrating and settling in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The Greenleaf family flourished in this part of Massachusetts for almost 150 years prior to Simon's birth in 1783. Simon's father, Moses Greenleaf, married Lydia Parsons, daughter of Rev. [[Jonathan Parsons]] of Newburyport. Their son Moses Greenleaf (1777–1834), Simon's older brother, became a distinguished surveyor and mapmaker in [[Maine]].

In the 1790s, Simon's parents moved to New Gloucester in [[Maine]], leaving him in Newburyport under the care of his grandfather Jonathan Greenleaf. There Simon was educated at the Latin school and studied the Greco-Roman classics. When he turned 16 years old, he rejoined his parents in New Gloucester. In 1801 he joined the law office of [[Ezekiel Whitman]] (later the Chief Justice of Maine) and in 1806 was admitted to the Cumberland County bar as a legal practitioner. On 22 Mar 1806, in New Gloucester, he married Hannah Kingman.<ref>"Maine, Marriages, 1771-1907," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F463-V4H : accessed 22 Oct 2014), Simon Greenleaf and Hannah Kingmon, 22 Mar 1806; citing New Gloucester, Maine, reference; FHL microfilm 9795.</ref>

He then opened a legal practice at [[Standish, Maine|Standish]], but six months later relocated to [[Gray, Maine|Gray]], where he practised for twelve years, and in 1818 moved to [[Portland, Maine|Portland]]. Greenleaf's [[political ideology|political preferences]] were aligned with the [[Federalist Party]], and in 1816 he was an unsuccessful candidate for that party in [[Cumberland County, Maine|Cumberland County]] for the Senate. He was reporter of the [[Maine Supreme Judicial Court|Supreme Court of Maine]] from 1820 to 1832, and published nine volumes of ''Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Maine'' (1820–1832).

Greenleaf was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1820.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlist American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>

He was awarded the honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] degree by Harvard in 1834. He received the same honor from Amherst in 1845, and again from the [[University of Alabama]] in 1852. In 1848, he was elected as a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1848&year-max=1848&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-14|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

==Professorships==
In 1833, Greenleaf was named to the [[Isaac Royall, Jr.|Royall]] [[endowed chair|professorship]], and in 1846 succeeded [[Joseph Story|Judge Joseph Story]] as [[Nathan Dane|Dane]] [[law school|professor of law]] at [[Harvard University]]. Greenleaf contributed extensively to the development of [[Harvard Law School]], including expansion of the Harvard Law Library. He was retained as chief [[lawyer|counsel]] by the Warren Bridge group in the [[Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court]] [[case (law)|case]] ''[[Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge]]'' [[Case citation|36 U.S. 420]] (1837),<ref>{{ussc|36|420|1837}} Full text of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge</ref> where the case laid down the rule that public [[contract]]s must be construed in favor of [[U.S. state|states]].

In 1848, Greenleaf retired from his active duties, and became professor emeritus. After being for many years president of the [[Massachusetts Bible Society]], he died at [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]. Greenleaf's well-known work, a ''Treatise on the Law of Evidence,'' is considered a classic of American jurisprudence.

==Contributions to Christian apologetics==
Greenleaf is an important figure in the development of that [[Christianity|Christian]] school of thought known as legal or juridical [[apologetics]]. This school of thought is typified by legally trained scholars applying the canons of legal proof and judicial argument to the defense of Christian belief. Greenleaf's ''[[Testimony of the Evangelists]]'' (1846) set the model for many subsequent works by legal apologists. He is distinguished{{by whom|date=December 2021}} as one who applied the canons of the [[ancient document]] rule to establish the authenticity of the [[Gospel| gospel accounts]], as well as [[cross-examination]] principles in assessing the testimony of those who bore witness to the [[crucifixion]] and [[resurrection of Jesus Christ|resurrection]] of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]. His style of reasoning is reflected in the [[Christian apologetics|apologetic]] works by [[John Warwick Montgomery]] (1931-2024), [[Josh McDowell]] (1939- ), and [[Ross Clifford]] (1951- ).

Several evangelical books and websites portray Greenleaf as an atheist who set out to disprove the Gospels, and claim that instead the evidence for Jesus' resurrection convinced him to become a Christian. Greenleaf was a devout evangelical [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]], and no evidence exists that he ever doubted the truth of the Gospels.<ref>
Daniel D. Blinka, "The Roots of the Modern Trial, Greenleaf's Testimony to the Harmony of Christianity, Science, and a law In Antebellum America", 27 ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 293 (Summer 2007).
</ref>

== Other Writings ==
Greenleaf's principal work of legal scholarship is a ''Treatise on the Law of Evidence'' (3 vols., 1842–1853), and which remained a standard textbook in American law throughout the Nineteenth century. He also published ''A Full Collection of Cases Overruled, Denied, Doubted, or Limited in their Application, taken from American and English Reports'' (1821). He prepared and published ''Reports of Cases Argued and Determined by the Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine'' in nine volumes (1820–1832). He revised for the American courts [[William Cruise]]'s ''Digest of Laws respecting [[Real Property]]'' (3 vols., 1849–1850). Greenleaf was also the author of ''A Brief Inquiry into the Origin and Principles of Free Masonry'' (1820), and wrote a memoir of the life of his colleague Joseph Story - ''A Discourse Commemorative of the Life and Character of the Hon. Joseph Story'' (1845).

Mentioned by actress [[Marium Carvell]], playing Selma Davis, in ''Judgment'' (a.k.a. Apocalypse IV)<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q2206794|title=Judgment (2001)}}</ref>

==Simon Greenleaf School of Law==
In 1980 it{{clarify|date=July 2016}} opened its doors at Trinity Lutheran Church, 4101 Nohl Ranch Rd, Anaheim, CA 92807. In August 1982, it was relocated to 3855 E. La Palma Ave, [[Anaheim, California]] 92807 that was named in his honor, The [[Simon Greenleaf School of Law]]. This school was founded by the Lutheran theologian-lawyer [[John Warwick Montgomery]]. From 1980-88 the law school published a journal named ''The Simon Greenleaf Law Review''. In 1997 the law school became part of [[Trinity International University]].

==Bibliography==
* Simon Greenleaf, ''[[Testimony of the Evangelist|The Testimony of the Evangelists Examined by The Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice]]'', reprint of the 1874 edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984). {{ISBN|0-8010-3803-0}}
* Simon Greenleaf, "The Testimony of the Evangelists," reprinted from the 1903 edition as an appendix in John Warwick Montgomery, ''The Law Above The Law'', (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1975), pp.&nbsp;91–140 & 149-163. {{ISBN|0-87123-329-0}}

==See also==

===Topics===
* [[Apologetics]]
* [[Christian Apologetics]]
* [[Existence of God|Arguments for the Existence of God]]
* [[Thomism]]
* [[Evidentialist]]
* [[Jesus Christ]]
* [[Testimony of the Evangelist]]
* [[The Case for Christ]]
* [[Atheism]]

===Apologists===
* [[Ross Clifford]]
* [[Josh McDowell]]
* [[John Warwick Montgomery]]
* [[Lee Strobel]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Greenleaf, Simon}}
* "Professor Simon Greenleaf" in Ross Clifford, ''Leading Lawyers ' Case for the Resurrection'', (Edmonton: Canadian Institute for Law, theology and Public Policy, 1996), pp.&nbsp;41–55 {{ISBN|1-896363-02-4}}
* John Warwick Montgomery, "Simon Greenleaf," ''Eternity'' magazine, November 1986, p.&nbsp;21.
* "Simon Greenleaf," in ''Dictionary of American Biography'', Vol. 4, Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds. New York: [[Charles Scribner's Sons]], pp 583–584.
*[https://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/70/ Summary of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge from OYEZ]

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
{{AmCyc Poster|Greenleaf, Simon|Simon Greenleaf}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=37373| name=Simon Greenleaf}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Simon Greenleaf}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020922151310/http://bibleteacher.org/sgtestimony.htm Simon Greenleaf's Testimony of the Evangelists]
* Philip Johnson, "Juridical Apologists 1600-2000 AD: A Bio-Bibliographical Essay," ''Global Journal of Classical Theology'', 3/1 (2002).[https://web.archive.org/web/20070405091241/http://www.trinitysem.edu/journal/philjohnsonpap.html]
*{{cite web|url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HLS.Libr:law00056|title=Finding aid for Simon Greenleaf, Papers, 1792-1853.|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=Harvard Law School Library|access-date=}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenleaf, Simon}}
[[Category:1783 births]]
[[Category:1853 deaths]]
[[Category:American legal scholars]]
[[Category:Politicians from Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School faculty]]
[[Category:People from New Gloucester, Maine]]
[[Category:Christian apologists]]
[[Category:People from Newburyport, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Gray, Maine]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:Maine Federalists]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]