Thomas Porter (Vermont politician)
Thomas Porter (February 15, 1734 – May 30, 1833) was a Connecticut and Vermont military and political figure who served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.
Biography[edit]
Thomas Porter was born in Farmington, Connecticut Colony, on February 15, 1734, and became a farmer in Cornwall. He served with the British during the French and Indian War and held several local offices, including member of the Connecticut House of Representatives.[1][2]
Porter served against the British at the start of the American Revolution as a captain in the Connecticut Militia, and relocated to Tinmouth, Vermont in 1779.[3]
In 1780 Porter was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He served until 1782 and was Speaker of the House during his entire House tenure.[4]
Porter resigned as Speaker to accept election to the Governor's Council, on which he served until 1795.[5]
From 1781 to 1782 Porter was Assistant Judge of the Rutland County Court, and he was the court's Chief Judge from 1788 to 1789.[6]
In 1783 Porter became a Judge on the Vermont Supreme Court, serving until 1785.[7]
He died in Granville, New York on May 30, 1833.[8] Porter was buried at Sawyer Cemetery in Tinmouth.
Porter was the father of college president and theologian Ebenezer Porter.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Men of Vermont Illustrated, by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, page 174
- ^ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, by New England Historic Genealogical Society, Volume 9, 1855, page 54
- ^ Magazine article, The Supreme Court of Vermont, The Green Bag: A Useless but Entertaining Magazine for Lawyers, by Russell S. Taft, January, 1894 (Volume 6 Number 1), page 22
- ^ List of Speakers of the Vermont House of representatives Archived 2012-07-20 at archive.today, published by Vermont Secretary of State, Archives and Records Administration, 2012
- ^ Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, (Montpelier), Volume 3, 1875, pages 1 to 2
- ^ History of Rutland County, Vermont, by H. P. Smith and W. S. Rann, 1886, pages 142 to 143
- ^ Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Vermont, by Daniel Chipman, Volume 1, 1824, page 6
- ^ Annals of the American Pulpit: Trinitarian Congregational, by William Buell Sprague, 1857, page 351
- ^ Memoir of the Life and Character of Ebenezer Porter, by Lyman Matthews, 1837, page 23
- 1734 births
- 1833 deaths
- People from Farmington, Connecticut
- People from Tinmouth, Vermont
- People of Connecticut in the French and Indian War
- People of Connecticut in the American Revolution
- People from colonial Connecticut
- Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
- Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
- Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives
- Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court
- People from pre-statehood Vermont
- Military personnel from Connecticut
- People from Cornwall, Connecticut