away. It was during his solitude that he began writing the reports for which he became renowned. He was reappointed to his seat on the Supreme Court four times, serving until the adoption of the 1851 Constitution of Indiana, which made his position subject to election rather than appointment. Defeated for the Whig party nomination to run for his office, he left the court in 1852. He was defeated again in the 1853 election to become Supreme Court Reporter, which led him to seek a position on the federal courts after briefly attempting to practice law. Appointed by President Franklin Pierce, he served as a judge of the newly created Court of Claims dealing with financial claims against the federal government from 1855 until his death. During his lifetime Blackford accumulated a small fortune through the sale of his reports which was left to his only living relative, his half-sister Charlotte Teresa Coons. Early life Family and background Isaac Blackford was born on November 6, 1786, in Bound Brook, Somerset County, New Jersey, the only child of Joseph and Mary Straats Blackford. Joseph was a successful merchant, and had served in the New Jersey militia during the Revolutionary War. Mary was the daughter of a farmer. She had been a nurse during the American Revolutionary War and aided American soldiers during the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and continued to care for them when smallpox broke out among the army during the winter of 1780–1781. She was deeply religious, and known in the community for both her faith and patriotic zeal. Both of Blackford's parents were Presbyterian, and he remained a member of the church his entire life. Blackford received a basic education, learning to read and write, in local public schools. His father died on May 22, 1800, leaving half his land holdings and savings of $7,220.99 ($ in 2020 chained dollars) to his mother, and directing that the other half of the estate should be given to Blackford for education and as an inheritance, provided he remained obedient unto her until he reached adulthood. Mary remarried in 1801 to Thomas Coon and the couple had a child, Charlotte Teressa, on August 3, 1802. Blackford at first disliked his stepfather, but the two developed a close relationship as he grew older. The family continued to prosper, and when Blackford finally inherited his portion of his father's estate he received