John S. Sherburne

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John Samuel Sherburne (1757–1830) was an American lawyer, congressman, and judge from New Hampshire. He was born in Portsmouth and studied at Harvard and Dartmouth, becoming a lawyer in 1776. During the Revolutionary War he served in the Continental Army as a brigade staff major.

Sherburne practiced law in Portsmouth and served as United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire (1789–1793, 1801–1804). He also belonged to the New Hampshire House of Representatives (1790–1793, 1801). He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire (1793–1797).

In 1804 President Thomas Jefferson appointed him to the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, to replace John Pickering. He served as judge until his death in 1830. Pickering’s impeachment was the first time a federal official had been removed from office, and Sherburne had helped present the case against him.

In his later years, Sherburne’s health declined, and he effectively left the bench in 1826, though he remained on the payroll until his death in Portsmouth on August 2, 1830. He was succeeded by Matthew Harvey.