Samuel Prentiss

Samuel Prentiss (March 31, 1782 – January 15, 1857) was an Associate Justice and Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, a United States Senator from Vermont and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.

Samuel Prentiss
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
In office April 8, 1842 – January 15, 1857
Appointed by	John Tyler
Preceded by	Elijah Paine
Succeeded by	David Allen Smalley
United States senator from Vermont
In office March 4, 1831 – April 11, 1842
Preceded by	Dudley Chase
Succeeded by	Samuel C. Crafts
Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1829–1830
Preceded by	Richard Skinner
Succeeded by	Titus Hutchinson
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1825–1829
Preceded by	Joel Doolittle
Succeeded by	Titus Hutchinson
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Montpelier
In office 1824–1825
Preceded by	Araunah Waterman
Succeeded by	William Upham
Personal details
Born	Samuel Prentiss (1782-03-31)March 31, 1782 Stonington, Connecticut
Died	January 15, 1857(1857-01-15) (aged 74) Montpelier, Vermont
Resting place	Green Mount Cemetery Montpelier, Vermont
Political party	Federalist National Republican Whig
Spouse(s)	Lucretia Houghton (m. 1804-1855, her death)
Children	12 (including Theodore Prentiss)
Relatives	John Holmes Prentiss (brother)
Profession	Attorney

Education and career

Born on March 31, 1782, in Stonington, Connecticut,[1] Prentiss moved with his family to Worcester, Massachusetts, and then to Northfield, Massachusetts in 1786, completed preparatory studies and was instructed in the classics by private tutor Reverend Samuel C. Allen.[1] He studied law in Northfield with attorney Samuel Vose,[1] and Brattleboro, Vermont with attorney John W. Blake[1] in 1802.[1] He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Montpelier, Vermont from 1803 to 1824.[2]

He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1824 to 1825.[1] He was an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1825 to 1829,[3] and Chief Justice from 1829 to 1830.[3]

Political affiliations and unsuccessful candidacy

In addition to practicing law, Prentiss became active in politics, first as a Federalist,[4] and later as a National Republican[5][6] and Whig.[6] He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 1816.[4]

Congressional service

Prentiss was elected in 1831 to the United States Senate as a National Republican. He was reelected as a Whig in 1837 and served from March 4, 1831, to April 11, 1842, when he resigned to accept a judicial appointment.[6] He was Chairman of the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office for the 27th United States Congress.[6]

Anti-dueling statute

White in the Senate, Prentiss was the originator and successful advocate of the law to suppress dueling in the District of Columbia.[1]

Federal judicial service

Prentiss was nominated by President John Tyler on April 8, 1842, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge Elijah Paine.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 8, 1842, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on January 15, 1857, due to his death in Montpelier.[1] He was interred in Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.[7]

Family

The fourth in his family to be named Samuel Prentiss, Prentiss was the son of Lucretia (Holmes) Prentiss and Samuel Prentiss III (1759-1818), a physician who served as an army surgeon during the American Revolution.[1][8] His grandfather, Colonel Samuel Prentiss II (1736-1809), was also a veteran of the Revolution.[1][8] Prentiss was the brother of John Holmes Prentiss, a United States Representative from New York.[2] In 1804, Prentiss married Lucretia Houghton (1786–1855) of Northfield.[1] They were the parents of 12 children.[9] Their son Theodore Prentiss was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Notable law student

Among the lawyers who received their education and training in Prentiss's office was William Upham, who later served in the United States Senate.[10]

Other service and honors

Prentiss was a trustee of Dartmouth College from 1820 to 1827;[11] he received the honorary degrees of Artium Magister[11] and Legum Doctor[11] from Dartmouth in 1817 and 1832.[11]

References

1. The History of the Town of Montpelier, pp. 447-451.
2. "Samuel Prentiss". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
3. History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical, p. 124.
4. "Vermont Election Results", p. 2.
5. Annual Report of the American Historical Association, p. 507.
6. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005, p. 1762.
7. "Prominent People Buried in Vermont:Samuel Prentiss".
8. DAR Lineage Book, p. 273.
9. The History of the Town of Montpelier, p. 451.
10. The History of the Town of Montpelier, p. 454.
11. General Catalogue of Dartmouth College, p. 67.

Sources

Books

• American Historical Association (1903). Annual Report of the American Historical Association. I. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
• Bisbee, Marvin Davis (1900). General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1900. Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College. p. 67.
• Dolliver, Louise Pearsons (1907). Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. XXIII. Harrisburg, PA: Telegraph Printing Company.
• Hemenway, Abby Maria (1882). The History of the Town of Montpelier, Including that of the Town of East Montpelier. Montpelier, VT: A. M. Hemenway. p. 447.
• Thompson, Zadock (1842). History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical. I. Burlington, VT: Chauncey Goodrich. p. 124.
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 2005. ISBN 978-0-16-073176-1.

Internet

• "Prominent People Buried in Vermont:Samuel Prentiss". www.voca58.org/. Burlington, VT: Vermont Old Cemetery Association. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
• Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. "Vermont Election Results: United States Representative (Six Districts), 1812-1820" (PDF). www.sec.state.vt.us/. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved July 14, 2017.

External links

• Samuel Prentiss at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• "Samuel Prentiss". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Samuel Prentiss at Find a Grave
• Binney, Charles J. F. (1883). Memoirs of Judge Samuel Prentiss, of Montpelier, Vt., and his Wife, Lucretia (Houghton) Prentiss. Boston, MA: C. J. F. Binney.
• Phelps, Edward John (1883). Address on the Life and Public Services of the Hon. Samuel Prentiss. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Watchman & Journal Press.

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Dudley Chase	U.S. senator (Class 3) from Vermont 1831–1842 Served alongside: Horatio Seymour, Benjamin Swift and Samuel S. Phelps	Succeeded by Samuel C. Crafts
Legal offices
Preceded by Joel Doolittle	Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court 1825–1829	Succeeded by Titus Hutchinson
Preceded by Richard Skinner	Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court 1829–1830	Succeeded by Titus Hutchinson
Preceded by Elijah Paine	Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont 1842–1857	Succeeded by David Allen Smalley