Root, Jesse, 1736-1822

Jesse Root (December 28, 1736 – March 29, 1822) was an American minister and lawyer from Coventry, Connecticut.

Born in Coventry in the Colony of Connecticut, he graduated from Princeton College and studied theology before being ordained as a minister and preaching from 1758 to 1763. Studying law, Root was admitted to the bar in 1763 and commenced practice in Hartford, Connecticut. During the American Revolution he served on the Connecticut Council of Safety and in the Connecticut militia. Originally appointed as a lieutenant colonel in Peekskill in 1777, he rose to the rank of Adjutant-General of the Connecticut Line. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress for Connecticut from 1778 until 1782, and sat as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1796 to 1807 as well as a state court judge. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives and served in the Connecticut Constitutional Convention. He was also a member of the First Company, Governor's Foot Guard, serving as its commandant between May 1798 and October 1802.

Root died in Coventry and was interred in Nathan Hale Cemetery in South Coventry, Connecticut.