Brearly, David (1745-1790) Signer of the US Constitution: David Brearly was born on June 11, 1745, in Spring Grove, New jersey. He became a self-educated lawyer, and fought in the Revolutionary War from 1776 to 1779. He served as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court until 1789. His decision in the 1780 case, Holmes v. Watson, provided an early precedent for "judicial review." In 1776, he helped draft the New Jersey constitution. At the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, he signed the US Constitution, and later presided over the New Jersey convention to ratify the document. In 1789, he was a member of the first Electoral College. Brearly maintained an interest and involvement with the Society of the Cincinnati, the Masons and Episcopal Church. He died in Trenton, New Jersey, on August 16, 1790.
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