Tapping Reeve

Tapping Reeve (sometimes presented as Tappan Reeve; October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer and law educator. In 1784, he opened the Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut, the first school to offer a comprehensive legal curriculum in the United States.

Early years

Tapping Reeve was born in Brookhaven, New York, on Long Island, to Reverend Abner Reeve. He graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, in 1763. While earning his Masters there (completed 1766), he also served as a headmaster of the grammar school associated with the college in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was hired to privately tutor the orphaned children of the Rev. Aaron Burr, Sr., the former President of the college, and his wife Esther Edwards Burr. Tapping Reeve taught young Aaron Burr and his sister Sally for several years.

Reeve developed a relationship with Sally Burr. He asked her guardian for her hand in marriage but was refused due to their age difference and Reeve's lack of steady employment. In 1771, Reeve moved to Hartford, Connecticut where he studied law with Judge Jesse Root. At this time, he again asked to marry Sally and was given permission. The couple wed on June 4, 1771. Reeve passed the Connecticut state bar the next year and the couple moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, where Reeve established a legal practice.