Hoyt Henry Wheeler (August 30, 1833 – November 19, 1906) was an associate 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 ...

and later a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Vermont The United States District Court for the District of Vermont (in case citations, D. Vt.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the federal district of Vermont. The court has locations in Brattleboro, ...

Education and career

Wheeler was born on August 30, 1833, in Chesterfield,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, a son of John Wheeler and Roxana (Hall) Wheeler. He was raised and educated in Chesterfield and

Newfane, Vermont Newfane is the shire town (county seat) of Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,645 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Newfane, Williamsville, and South Newfane. History One of the New Hampshire gra ...

, including attendance at the Chesterfield Academy, where he later taught. He also taught at schools in

Dummerston Dummerston is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three main villages: Dummerston Center, West Dumm ...

, Vermont, Newfane, Townshend, Vermont and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, Vermont. Wheeler began to study law while teaching, and learned under the tutelage of attorneys Charles K. Field, Jonathan Dorr Bradley and George Bradley Kellogg. He was admitted to the bar in 1859, and practiced in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

from 1859 to 1867, first in partnership with John E. Butler, then as senior partner with Lavant M. Reed. A Republican, he was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

in 1867. He was a member of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

from 1868 to 1869. He was an associate justice of the

from 1869 to 1877, succeeding Justice John Prout.

Federal judicial service

Wheeler was nominated by President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

on March 15, 1877, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge David Allen Smalley. According to contemporary accounts, Wheeler had not sought the appointment, but received it because he had made a favorable impression on Hayes when Hayes visited Newfane. (Hayes's family was originally from nearby Dummerston.) He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on March 16, 1877, and received his commission the same day. He retired in October 1906, following the confirmation of James Loren Martin as his successor.

Death and burial

Wheeler died in

Brattleboro Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located about north of the Massachusetts state line at the confluence of Vermont's West River and the Connecticut River. With a 2022 Census populat ...

on November 19, 1906. He was buried at Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro.

Family

In 1861, Wheeler married Minnie L. Maclay of

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, United States. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census figures, and an estimated population of 20,305 as of 20 ...

. They had no children, but raised as their own a nephew, John Knowlton, the son of Mrs. Wheeler's sister Elizabeth and her husband Benjamin L. Knowlton.

Honors

In 1886, Wheeler received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

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 the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

References

Sources

Books

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Newspapers

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Hoyt Henry 1833 births 1906 deaths People from Chesterfield, New Hampshire Vermont lawyers Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont United States federal judges appointed by Rutherford B. Hayes United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly