James Barrett (May 31, 1814April 21, 1900) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, politician and judge who served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

and a justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

Early life

James Barrett was born in

Strafford, Vermont Strafford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,094 at the 2020 census. The town of Strafford was created on August 12, 1761, by way of a royal charter which King George III of Great Britain issued to Govern ...

on May 31, 1814. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1838, and received a master's degree in 1841. Barrett studied law, first with James Crocker of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

and later with Charles Marsh.

Start of career

In 1840 Barrett began to practice law in

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

as Marsh's partner. In 1843 he became the partner of

Jacob Collamer Jacob Collamer (January 8, 1791 – November 9, 1865) was an American politician from Vermont. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Postmaster General in the cabinet of President Zachary Taylor, and as a U.S. Senator. Born i ...

. From 1848 to 1849 Barrett practiced law in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and upon returning to Woodstock he formed a partnership with Andrew Tracy and Julius Converse.

Political career

A Whig, in 1844 and 1845 Barrett was elected to term in the Vermont Senate, and he was chosen by his peers to serve as Senate President in 1845. From 1854 to 1855 he was Windsor County

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

. In 1857, by now a Republican, Barrett was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court, where he served until 1880. In 1865 Barrett received an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

. Barrett also served as President of the Dartmouth College Alumni Association and the Vermont Bar Association.

Later life

After leaving the bench Barrett resided in

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, and practiced law with his son James Crocker Barrett. After the younger Barrett's 1887 death the elder Barrett lived in retirement in Rutland.

Death and burial

James Barrett died in Rutland on April 21, 1900.Dartmouth College
Necrology, 1900, page 7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, James 1814 births 1900 deaths Dartmouth College alumni People from Strafford, Vermont People from Woodstock, Vermont People from Rutland (city), Vermont Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont Whigs Vermont Republicans Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Rutland, Vermont) 19th-century American state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly