Nathaniel Chipman
Nathaniel Chipman was the first federal judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. On March 4, 1791, the very day the state of Vermont was admitted to the Union, Chipman was nominated by President George Washington on March 4, 1791, to a new seat authorized by 1 Stat. 197. He was confirmed by the Senate and received commission that same day. He resigned January 1, 1793. Chipman was succeeded in this position by Samuel Hitchcock.[1] Earlier he had served as Chief Justice of Vermont and later he was a United States Senator from Vermont.
During the decade 1781–1791, when Chipman served as state's attorney, then as a member of the state legislature, then as assistant justice, and finally chief justice, the State of Vermont was not recognized by governments outside of Vermont and considered Vermont not to be a part of the United States because its repeated petitions for representation in the Continental Congress had been denied. The State of New York objected to the existence of the government of Vermont, claiming Vermont was a part of New York. In 1790 the legislature of New York decided to recognize Vermont on condition that Congress decided to admit Vermont to the Union, and in January 1791 Vermont petitioned Congress for admission. Chipman, representing the State of Vermont, met with President George Washington on February 9, 1791 to notify him officially of Vermont's petition.
Early life and education
- Yale College, 1777[1]
Professional career
- Continental Army, 1777–1778
- Private practice, Tinmouth, Vermont, 1779–1784, 1785–1787, 1793–1796, 1804–1806, 1809–1810, 1811–1813, 1817–1843
- State's attorney, Montpelier, Vermont, 1781–1785
- Representative, Vermont State Legislature, 1784–1785
- Assistant justice, Vermont Supreme Court, 1787–1789
- Chief justice, Vermont Supreme Court, 1790–1791
- Federal judge, District of Vermont, 1791–1793
- Chief justice, Vermont Supreme Court, 1796–1798
- U.S. Senator from Vermont, 1798–1804
- Representative, Vermont State Legislature, 1806–1809
- Representative, Vermont State Legislature, 1811
- Member, Vermont Council of Censors, 1813
- Chief justice, Vermont Supreme Court, 1813–1815
- Professor of law, Middlebury College, 1816–[1]
Judicial career
District of Vermont
Chipman was nominated by President George Washington on March 4, 1791 to a new seat authorized by 1 Stat. 197. He was confirmed by the Senate and received commission that same day. He resigned January 1, 1793. Chipman was succeeded in this position by Samuel Hitchcock.[1]
External links
- Biography of Nathaniel Chipman from the Federal Judicial Center.
- Writings of Nathaniel Chipman by The Open Library.
Footnotes
- The Life of Nathaniel Chipman, by Daniel Chipman, Kessinger Publishing, LLC (November 26, 2008)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: NA |
District of Vermont 1791–1793 |
Succeeded by: Samuel Hitchcock
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington |
Bedford • Blair • Brearley • Cushing • Duane • Hopkinson • Innes • Jay • Law • Lowell • Pendleton • Rutledge • Sewall • Sullivan • Wilson | ||
| 1790 |
Bee • Drayton • Griffin • Iredell • Marchant • Morris • Paca • Sitgreaves • Stokes | ||
| 1791 - 92 | Chipman • Johnson • Lewis • Peters | ||
| 1793 - 95 | |||
| 1796 | |||
| 1797 | |||
