Samuel Prentiss (March 31, 1782January 15, 1857) was an associate justice and chief 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 ...

, a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

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 ...

and 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

Born on March 31, 1782, in Stonington,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Prentiss moved with his family to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and then to Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1786, where he completed preparatory studies and was instructed in the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

by private tutor Reverend Samuel C. Allen. He studied law in Northfield with attorney Samuel Vose, and in Brattleboro,

, with attorney John W. Blake in 1802. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and practiced in Montpelier, Vermont, from 1803 to 1824. 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 ...

from 1824 to 1825. He was an associate justice of the

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 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 ...

, and later as a

National Republican The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States which evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John ...

and Whig. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the

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

in 1816.

Congressional service

Prentiss was elected in 1831 to 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 ...

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 The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., between March 4, ...

Anti-dueling statute

While in the Senate, Prentiss was the originator and successful advocate of the law to suppress

dueling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...

in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Federal judicial service

Prentiss was nominated by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

on April 8, 1842, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Elijah Paine. He was confirmed by the

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 at

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as ma ...

in Montpelier.

Family

Samuel Prentiss was the fourth in his line to be named Samuel Prentiss. He was the second of nine children born to Dr. Samuel Prentiss III and his wife Lucretia (' Holmes). Two of his younger brothers also had notable political careers. John Holmes Prentiss served two terms as a U.S. congressman from New York. William A. Prentiss was the 10th mayor of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, and served in the

and the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. Their father, Dr. Samuel Prentiss was a prominent physician and served as a combat surgeon for his father, Colonel Samuel Prentice II, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The Prentiss family were descendants from Captain Thomas Prentice, who emigrated from England to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

in the 1640s and served as a captain during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

. Samuel Prentiss IV married Lucretia Houghton (1786–1855), of Northfield, in 1804. They had twelve children, though at least two died in infancy. Their 8th child,

Theodore Prentiss Theodore Prentiss (September 10, 1818August 3, 1906) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the first mayor of Watertown, Wisconsin, and represented Jefferson County for one year in the Wisconsin State Asse ...

, moved to Wisconsin, became the first mayor of

Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a city in Jefferson and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 22,926 at the 2020 census, of which 14,674 were in Jefferson County and 8,252 were in Dodge County. Division Street, several blocks north of ...

, and also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Notable law student

Among the lawyers who received their education and training in Prentiss's office was

William Upham William Upham (August 5, 1792January 14, 1853) was an American attorney and politician from Montpelier, Vermont. He was most notable for his service as a United States senator from Vermont. A native of Leicester, Massachusetts, Upham was rai ...

, who later served in the

Other service and honors

Prentiss was a trustee of

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 ...

from 1820 to 1827; he received the honorary degrees of

Artium Magister A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

and

Legum Doctor Legum is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Colin Legum (1919–2003), British anti-apartheid activist * Judd Legum (born 1978), American journalist, lawyer, and political staffer * Margaret Legum (1933–2007), Brit ...

from Dartmouth in 1817 and 1832.

References

Sources

Books

* * * * * *

Internet

* *

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prentiss, Samuel 1782 births 1857 deaths United States senators from Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont United States federal judges appointed by John Tyler 19th-century Vermont state court judges Vermont lawyers People from Stonington, Connecticut Chief justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Vermont Whigs Vermont National Republicans National Republican Party United States senators Burials at Green Mount Cemetery (Montpelier, Vermont) 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly