American judge
"Senator Prentiss" redirects here. For the Ohio State Senate member, see
C. J. 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
.
Education and career
[
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]
Born on March 31, 1782, in
Stonington
,
Connecticut
,
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.
He
studied law
in Northfield with attorney Samuel Vose,
and
Brattleboro
,
Vermont
, with attorney John W. Blake
in 1802.
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.
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
[
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]
In addition to practicing law, Prentiss became active in politics, first as a
Federalist
,
and later as a
National Republican
and
Whig
.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the
United States House of Representatives
in 1816.
Congressional service
[
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]
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.
He was Chairman of the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office for the
27th United States Congress
.
Anti-dueling statute
[
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]
While in the Senate, Prentiss was the originator and successful advocate of the law to suppress
dueling
in the
District of Columbia
.
Federal judicial service
[
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]
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
.
He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
on April 8, 1842, and received his commission the same day.
His service terminated on January 15, 1857, due to his death in Montpelier.
He was interred at
Green Mount Cemetery
in Montpelier.
Family
[
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]
Samuel Prentiss was the fourth in his line to be named Samuel Prentiss. He was the second of nine children born to Dr. Samuel Prentiss III and his wife Lucretia (
nee
Holmes).
[8]
Two of his younger brothers also had notable political careers.
John Holmes Prentiss
served two terms as a U.S. congressman from New York.
[8]
William A. Prentiss
was the 10th mayor of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, and served in the
Vermont House of Representatives
and the
Wisconsin State Assembly
.
Their father, Dr. Samuel Prentiss was a prominent physician and served as a combat surgeon for his father, Colonel Samuel Prentice II, during the
American Revolutionary War
. The Prentiss family were descendants of Captain Thomas Prentice, who emigrated from England to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
in the 1640s and served as a captain during
King Philip's War
.
[8]
Samuel Prentiss IV married Lucretia Houghton (1786?1855), of Northfield, in 1804. They had twelve children, though at least two died in infancy. Their 8th child,
Theodore Prentiss
, moved to Wisconsin, became the first mayor of
Watertown, Wisconsin
, and also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
[8]
[9]
Notable law student
[
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]
Among the lawyers who received their education and training in Prentiss's office was
William Upham
, who later served in the
United States Senate
.
Other service and honors
[
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]
Prentiss was a trustee of
Dartmouth College
from 1820 to 1827;
he received the honorary degrees of
Artium Magister
and
Legum Doctor
from Dartmouth in 1817 and 1832.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Samuel Prentiss"
.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
.
- ^
a
b
History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical
, p. 124.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Binney, C. J. F., ed. (1883).
The History and Genealogy of the Prentice, or Prentiss Family, in New England, etc., from 1631 to 1883
. C. J. F. Binney. pp.
161
,
181
,
190?191
,
207?208
. Retrieved
August 16,
2022
.
- ^
"In Memoriam"
.
The Watertown News
. August 10, 1906. p. 5
. Retrieved
August 16,
2022
– via
Newspapers.com
.
Sources
[
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]
Books
[
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]
- American Historical Association (1903).
Annual Report of the American Historical Association
. Vol. 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
. Vol. 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
[
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]
External links
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