Enoch Woodbridge

Enoch Woodbridge (December 25, 1750 – April 21, 1805) was a Vermont attorney, politician, and judge. A veteran of the American Revolution, he served as a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1794 to 1800, and Chief Justice from 1798 to 1800.

Biography

Enoch Woodbridge was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on December 25, 1750.[1] He graduated from Yale University in 1774,[1] and joined the Patriot cause for the American Revolution.[2] Initially assigned to militia forces that took part in the Siege of Boston,[1] he subsequently served as adjutant of the Continental Army regiment commanded by John Paterson.[1] Woodbridge was wounded at the Battle of White Plains,[3] and settled in Pownal, Vermont, where he was first appointed quartermaster of Warner’s Additional Regiment,[3] and later as a commissary of issues, contracted to provide supplies and equipment for the Continental Army.[1] He took part in the battles of Hubbardton, Bennington, and Saratoga, and served until 1780.[2]

Following his military service, Woodbridge studied law, attained admission to the bar, and began to practice in Pownal.[1] He subsequently relocated to Manchester, and then Vergennes, where he became a permanent resident.[1] While residing in Manchester, Woodbridge served in local offices including lister and town meeting moderator,[4] in addition to terms as State's Attorney for Bennington County, and Judge of Probate for the county's Manchester District.[5]

After moving to Vergennes, Woodbridge served in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1791 and 1793, and was a delegate to Vermont's 1793 constitutional convention.[2] When Vergennes was incorporated as a city in 1794, Woodbridge was elected mayor, and served a one-year term.[2] In 1794, he was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court;[1] he served until 1800, and was the court's Chief Justice from 1798 to 1800.[1]

Woodbridge resumed practicing law in Vergennes after his retirement from the bench, and served again in the Vermont House in 1802.[1] He died in Vergennes on April 21, 1805,[1] and was buried at Vergennes Burying Ground.[6]

Family

Woodbridge was the son of Judge Timothy Woodbridge (1709-1774) of Stockbridge, Massachusetts and Abigail (Day) Woodbridge;[1] his father died several months before Woodbridge's birth.[7] His uncles John (1702-1783) and Benjamin Woodbridge (1712-1785) were both prominent New England clergymen.[1] Woodbridge was also a direct descendant of Governor Thomas Dudley[2] and Reverend John Woodbridge,[1] and was the great-grandson of Reverend John Eliot.[2]

In 1774, Woodbridge married Nancy Winchell of North East, New York.[1] They were the parents of eight children.[1] Nancy Woodbridge died in 1800, and in 1802 Woodbridge married Sabrina Hopkins, who died in 1807.[1]

One of Woodbridge's sons was Enoch Day Woodbridge, who married Cora Strong, the daughter of General John Strong.[2] Enoch D. and Cora Woodbridge were the parents of Frederick E. Woodbridge, a member of Congress from Vermont.[2]

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References
  1. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College, p. 543.
  2. Men of Vermont Illustrated, p. 176.
  3. Yale and Her Honor-roll in the American Revolution, 1775-1783, p. 304.
  4. History of Bennington County, Vt., pp. 350-351.
  5. The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, p. 202.
  6. "Memorial, Enoch Woodbridge".
  7. "Memorial, Timothy Woodbridge".

Sources

Books
  • Aldrich, Lewis Cass (1889). History of Bennington County, Vt. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co. p. 200.
  • Dexter, Franklin Bowditch (1903). Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College. 3. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
  • Hemenway, Abby Maria (1867). The Vermont Historical Gazetteer. 1. Burlington, VT: A. M. Hemenway.
  • Johnston, Henry Phelps (1888). Yale and Her Honor-roll in the American Revolution, 1775-1783. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 304.
  • Ullery, Jacob G. (1894). Men of Vermont Illustrated. Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Company. p. 176.

Internet
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