Samuel Prentiss


Samuel Prentiss 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

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.
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, and Chief Justice from 1829 to 1830.

Political affiliations and unsuccessful candidacy

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

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

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

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. 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 in Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.

Family

The fourth in his family to be named Samuel Prentiss, Prentiss was the son of Lucretia Prentiss and Samuel Prentiss III, a physician who served as an army surgeon during the American Revolution. His grandfather, Colonel Samuel Prentiss II, was also a veteran of the Revolution. Prentiss was the brother of John Holmes Prentiss, a United States Representative from New York. In 1804, Prentiss married Lucretia Houghton of Northfield. They were the parents of 12 children. 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.

Other service and honors

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.

Books

Internet