Jonas Galusha (February 11, 1753September 24, 1834) was the sixth and eighth governor of Vermont for two terms in the early 19th century.

Biography

Galusha, born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in the

Colony of Connecticut The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritan congregation of settlers ...

, moved with his siblings and his parents, Jacob and Lydia Huntington Galusha, to

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

in 1769. In 1775, his family then moved to Shaftsbury. Galusha's father, Jacob, was a farmer and a blacksmith. Though their educations were limited and from the common schools, he and his brothers were leading men in the town and to some extent in the state. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

his brother David was a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later be ...

, and Galusha was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, fighting in the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American ...

on August 16, 1777. In 1778, Galusha married Mary Chittenden, daughter of

Thomas Chittenden Thomas Chittenden (January 6, 1730August 25, 1797) was an American politician from Vermont, who was a leader of the territory for nearly two decades. He was the state's first and third governor, serving from 1778 to 1789—when it was a largely ...

, Governor of the independent

Republic of Vermont The Vermont Republic, officially known at the time as the State of Vermont, was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met ...

. The couple had nine children. Their son, Truman Galusha (The Truman

Galusha House The Truman Galusha House, also called the Truman Galusha Mansion and "Fairview" in various historical documents and maps, is a Federal architecture, Federal-style house in Jericho, Vermont, Jericho, Vermont, United States. It was listed on th ...

), also married into the Chittenden family, and moved his family to

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

, near Burlington. His home there is also listed on the National Register. Another son, Elon Galusha was a well-known Baptist clergyman, and famous abolitionist.

Career

A farmer and an innkeeper, Galusha was elected Sheriff of Bennington County, and served in that capacity through annual elections from 1781 to 1787. In 1792 he was a member of the first

Council of Censors The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon the ...

after admission to the Union. (The Council of Censors met every seven years to review statutes passed by the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

and ensure their constitutionality.) From 1793 to 1798 through successive elections, he was a member of the Governor's Council (a group of 12 men with powers which made it nearly equivalent to a co-ordinate branch of the legislature. During that time, his wife, Mary, died in 1794; and he subsequently married Martha "Patty" Sammons, who died in 1797. His third wife was Abigail Ward, who died in 1809. He was a 6-time candidate for Vermont's 1st congressional district: in 1796, 1802, 1804, 1806, and the regular and special elections in 1808. He ran as a Federalist in 1806, but otherwise was a Democratic-Republican. Galusha was a county

assistant judge Side judge, or assistant judge, is a judicial position unique to the U.S. state of Vermont. There are two side judges in each of Vermont's 14 counties. Like lay judges, side judges are usually not legal professionals. Duties and responsibilities ...

from 1795 to 1798 and 1800 to 1806. He was a Judge 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 ...

in 1807 and in 1808. He married Abigail Ward in June 1808 and she died the following year. In 1808, he served as a presidential elector for the

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

candidacy of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. The following year, Galusha was elected

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

, serving until 1813. He was both the predecessor and the successor of the

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

Martin Chittenden, brother of Galusha's first wife, Mary Chittenden. During his governorship, he encouraged war with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1812. In 1814 he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Galusha served another term as

, elected year by year from 1815 to 1820. He was a presidential elector in the 1820 and 1824 elections. Jonas Galusha was the namesake of Galusha Aaron Grow, a Congressman from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

who served as

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

. Grow's aunt, who resided in Vermont, was asked to choose his name at his birth, and she selected "Galusha" because she admired Jonas Galusha, and "Aaron" because it was the name of her husband.

Death

Galusha's fourth wife, Abigail "Nabby" Atwater Beach Galusha died in 1831. He died in Shaftsbury in 1834. He was active in the

Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

. He is interred at the Center Shaftsbury Cemetery, Shaftsbury, Center Shaftsbury,

Bennington County, Vermont Bennington County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington, Vermont, Bennington ("The So ...

The Gov. Galusha Homestead

The imposing home known as The Gov. Galusha Homestead on Rt.7A in Center Shaftsbury, Vermont, is famous as one of Vermont's architectural treasures. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The magnificent Palladian window over the front entrance, and many other details are the result of design by Lavius Fillmore, the famous colonial architect from Connecticut who also designed some of Vermont's finest churches in Bennington and Middlebury. The house is also well known for several beautifully-preserved early wall paintings, rare examples of the colonial practice of using murals to imitate wallpaper, which was often unavailable in early Vermont. They are featured in a book called ''Early Vermont Wall Paintings'' by R. L. McGrath: In 2010, the homestead and its farmland were protected by covenants between Galusha descendants and the Vermont Land Trust.

References

External links

Jonas Galusha: A Memoir
by Pliny H. White (1866)
Vermont Historical Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galusha, Jonas Governors of Vermont Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court 1753 births 1834 deaths People from Shaftsbury, Vermont Vermont militiamen in the American Revolution Vermont Democratic-Republicans Vermont sheriffs Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Chittenden family 18th-century American politicians 19th-century Vermont politicians 19th-century Vermont state court judges Candidates in the 1796 United States elections Candidates in the 1802 United States elections Candidates in the 1804 United States elections Candidates in the 1806 United States elections Candidates in the 1808 United States elections