American attorney and politician
William Upham
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/WUpham_%28restored%29.jpg/220px-WUpham_%28restored%29.jpg) Restored version of damaged original. Photo by
Mathew Brady
, circa 1850. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
|
|
|
In office
March 4, 1843 ? January 14, 1853
|
Preceded by
| Samuel C. Crafts
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Samuel S. Phelps
|
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|
In office
1830?1831
|
Preceded by
| Naum Kelton
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Azel Spaulding
|
---|
In office
1827?1829
|
Preceded by
| Arunah Waterman
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Naum Kelton
|
---|
|
In office
1829?1830
|
Preceded by
| Denison Smith
|
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Succeeded by
| Azel Spaulding
|
---|
|
|
Born
| (
1792-08-05
)
August 5, 1792
Leicester, Massachusetts
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| January 14, 1853
(1853-01-14)
(aged 60)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
|
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Resting place
| Congressional Cemetery
, Washington, D.C.
|
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Political party
| National Republican
Anti-Masonic
Whig
|
---|
Spouse
| Sarah Keyes (m. 1814?1853, his death)
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Children
| 4
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Education
| University of Vermont
(attended)
|
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Profession
| Attorney
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Signature
| ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/William_Upham_signature_%28US_Senator_from_Vermont%29.jpg/128px-William_Upham_signature_%28US_Senator_from_Vermont%29.jpg) |
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William Upham
(August 5, 1792 – January 14, 1853) was an American attorney and politician from
Montpelier, Vermont
. He was most notable for his service as a
United States senator
from
Vermont
.
A native of
Leicester, Massachusetts
, Upham was raised in Leicester and Montpelier, where his family moved in 1802. He was educated locally and worked on the family farm until he lost his right hand in an accident when he was fifteen. He then completed an academic course at Montpelier Academy and with local tutors in preparation to
study law
. He was
admitted to the bar
in 1811 and practiced in Montpelier. Upham was an advocate for reform causes including temperance and the abolition of slavery, and changed his party affiliation several times as the anti-slavery movement grew and coalesced, going from the
National Republicans
to the
Anti-Masonic Party
to the
Whigs
in the 1830s. He was a leader of both the Anti-Masons and the Whigs, represented Montpelier in the
Vermont House of Representatives
twice (1827?1829, 1830?1831), and served a term as
State's Attorney
of
Washington County
(1829?1830).
In 1842, Upham was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was reelected in 1848 and served from March 4, 1843 until his death. As a senator, Upham opposed U.S. involvement in the
Mexican?American War
and the extension of slavery. He became ill in late 1852, and died in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1853. He was believed to have contracted
smallpox
and was assumed to be contagious. As a result, his funeral was held quickly, and he was buried at
Congressional Cemetery
in Washington rather than being returned to Vermont for burial.
Early life
[
edit
]
William Upham was born in
Leicester, Massachusetts
, on August 5, 1792, a son of Samuel Upham and Martha "Patty" (Livermore) Upham.
[1]
He moved with his family to
Montpelier, Vermont
, in 1802.
[2]
Upham worked on his family's farm and attended the district schools until age 15, when he sustained an injury after catching his hand in a
cider mill
; all the fingers of his right hand were crushed, resulting in the amputation of his whole hand, including the fingers and palm.
[2]
Upham then followed an academic course with the intent of pursuing a professional career, and attended Montpelier Academy and classes with two private tutors.
[2]
He attended the
University of Vermont
, then
studied law
, first with Cyrus Ward, then with
Samuel Prentiss
.
[2]
[3]
In 1835, the university awarded Upham the
honorary degree
of
Master of Arts
.
[4]
Early career
[
edit
]
Upham was
admitted to the bar
in 1811 and commenced practice in Montpelier in partnership with
Nicholas Baylies
, which they maintained for several years, after which Upham practiced as the senior partner of his own firm.
[2]
In addition to maintaining a successful practice, Upham also guided the efforts of several prospective lawyers who studied in his office, including
Peter T. Washburn
.
[2]
Upham became active in politics as a member of the
National Republican Party
[5]
and was an advocate for several reform causes including the abolition of slavery
[6]
and the
temperance movement
.
[7]
He was a member of the
Vermont House of Representatives
from 1827 to 1829 and was
State's Attorney
for
Washington County
from 1829 to 1830.
[2]
In 1830 he was again elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, and he served until 1831.
[2]
In the early 1830s, Upham joined the new
Anti-Masonic Party
and he served as president of its 1832 Vermont state convention.
[8]
In 1834, Upham was the unsuccessful
Whig
and Anti-Masonic nominee for the
United States House of Representatives
in Vermont's 5th District.
[9]
The highest finishers were the
Democratic
nominee,
Isaac Fletcher
and Upham.
[9]
Because neither received a majority, a second election was held; Upham declined to continue as a candidate, and the election was won by Whig and Anti-Mason
Henry Fisk Janes
, who defeated Fletcher.
[10]
In the mid 1830s, Upham served as chairman of Vermont's Whig Party.
[11]
In 1838, he was again an unsuccessful candidate for Congress, losing to Isaac Fletcher.
[12]
In 1840, he campaigned throughout the state for
Whig
presidential nominee
William Henry Harrison
, who was elected.
[2]
United States senator
[
edit
]
Illustration of Upham circa 1850, based on contemporary photo
In 1842 Samuel Prentiss resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate in order to accept appointment as judge of the
United States District Court for the District of Vermont
.
[13]
Samuel C. Crafts
was appointed to fill the vacancy, and served until the end of the term to which Prentiss had been elected, April 23, 1842, to March 3, 1843.
[2]
Crafts was not a candidate for a full term, and Upham was the successful
Whig
candidate for the seat.
[2]
He was reelected in 1848 and served from March 4, 1843, until his death.
[14]
While in the Senate, he was chairman of the
Committee on Agriculture
(
28th Congress
) and the
Committee on Pensions
(
29th Congress
).
[13]
As an opponent of slavery, Upham argued against U.S. involvement in the
Mexican?American War
, and introduced resolutions calling for immediate withdrawal from Mexico or a quick conclusion to the war.
[2]
He was an opponent of allowing slavery to extend beyond where it already existed, and voted against the
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
and other details related to the
Compromise of 1850
.
[2]
He was also a proponent of the
Wilmot Proviso
, which would have prevented the U.S. from extending slavery into any territory acquired as a result of the Mexican War.
[2]
Death and burial
[
edit
]
Upham died of
smallpox
in
Washington, D.C.
, on January 14, 1853;
[15]
[16]
because he was believed to be contagious, his funeral was held quickly, and his remains were not returned to Vermont. He was buried at
Congressional Cemetery
.
[17]
Quotations
[
edit
]
Family
[
edit
]
In 1814, Upham married Sarah Keyes; they were the parents of five children, four of whom lived to adulthood: William Keyes Upham (1817?1865), Charles Carroll Upham (1819?1868), Sarah Sumner (Upham) Langdon (1821?1888) and Mary Annette Upham (1825?1899), who died in the
Windsor Hotel fire
.
[14]
[21]
[22]
Rice family and relations
[
edit
]
Upham was a descendant of
Edmund Rice
, an English immigrant to
Massachusetts Bay Colony
, as follows:
[1]
- Martha Livermore (1768?1832),
[23]
daughter of
- James Livermore, Jr. (1743?1825), son of
- Elizabeth Rice (1713?1799), daughter of
- Elisha Rice (1679?1761), son of
- Thomas Rice (1626?1681), son of
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Edmund Rice (1638) Association, 2009. Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine Generations.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
Ullery, Jacob G. (1894).
Men of Vermont Illustrated
. Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Company. pp. 117?118 – via
Internet Archive
.
- ^
Brainard, Charles H. (February 5, 1853).
"Biographical Sketches of U.S. Senators -- No. 1"
.
Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion
. Vol. IV. Boston, MA: Frederick Gleason. p. 84 – via
Internet Archive
.
- ^
Thompson, Zadock
(1842).
History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical
. Burlington, VT: Chauncey Goodrich. p. 152 – via
Google Books
.
- ^
"National Republican Meeting"
.
Vermont Republican and Journal
. Windsor, VT. May 14, 1830. p. 2 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Conn, Gina (April 16, 2015).
"Montpelier Vermont abolitionist to take his place in history"
.
Rutland Herald
. Rutland, VT.
- ^
"Temperance State Convention"
.
Vermont Chronicle
. Bellows Falls, VT. April 17, 1839. p. 4 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Eaton, Ebenezer (July 3, 1832).
"Vermont Antimasonic State Convention"
.
North Star
. Danville, VT. p. 3 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
Palmer, William A. (September 29, 1834).
"Legal Notice, 5th Congressional District Election"
.
Vermont Patriot and State Gazette
. Montpelier, VT. p. 3 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Congressional Elections: Fifth District"
.
The American
. Middlebury, VT. December 2, 1834. p. 2 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Whig State Convention"
.
Vergennes Vermonter
. Vergennes, VT. July 4, 1838. p. 2 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Fifth District -- Official"
.
Daily Vermont Patriot
. Montpelier, VT. October 17, 1838. p. 2 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
a
b
Capace, Nancy (2007).
Encyclopedia of Vermont
. Santa Barbara, CA: Somerset Publishers. pp. 300?301, 316.
ISBN
978-0-403-09602-2
– via
Google Books
.
- ^
a
b
Hemenway, Abby Maria
(1882).
The History of Washington County in the Vermont Historical Gazetteer
. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press. pp. 454?457 – via
Internet Archive
.
- ^
Lowenthal, David (2000).
George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation
. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. p. 65.
ISBN
978-0-295-98315-8
– via
Google Books
.
- ^
United States Senate (1989).
Guide to the Records of the United States Senate at the National Archives, 1789-1989, Issue 7
. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 192.
- ^
Spencer, Thomas E. (1998).
Where They're Buried
. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Company, Inc. p. 146.
ISBN
978-0-8063-4823-0
.
- ^
Hamilton, Holman.
Prologue to Conflict: The Crisis and Compromise of 1850
. The University Press of Kentucky, 1964, 2005 p. 45.
- ^
Bordewich, Fergus M.
America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise of 1850
. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 2012 p. 125.
- ^
Byrd, Robert C., Hall, Mary Sharon
Senate, 1789-1989, V. 1: Addresses on the History of the United States Senate
. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1988 p. 187.
- ^
"Tragic Deaths in One Family"
.
Burlington, VT
. Burlington, VT. April 1, 1899. p. 6 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
John Danner, ed. (1904).
Old Landmarks of Canton and Stark County, Ohio
. pp. 954?957
. Retrieved
September 7,
2023
– via
Archive.org
.
- ^
"Edmund Rice online database"
. Edmund Rice (1638) Association
. Retrieved
November 10,
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Agriculture
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