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William Baxter (American politician)

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William Baxter
Assistant Judge of Orleans County, Vermont
In office
1825–1827
Serving with Samuel C. Crafts
Preceded byNathaniel P. Sawyer, John Ide
Succeeded byWilliam Howe
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1826–1827
Preceded byJasper Robinson
Succeeded byJasper Robinson
In office
1824–1825
Preceded byNone (no selection)
Succeeded byJasper Robinson
In office
1819–1822
Preceded byNone (no selection)
Succeeded byNone (no selection)
In office
1806–1818
Preceded byLuke Gilbert
Succeeded byNone (no selection)
In office
1802–1803
Preceded byNone (no selection)
Succeeded byElijah Strong
ConstituencyBrownington
State's Attorney of Orleans County, Vermont
In office
1802–1815
Preceded byJoseph C. Bradley
Succeeded byDavid M. Camp
Personal details
Born(1778-08-03)August 3, 1778
Norwich, Vermont Republic
DiedOctober 1, 1827(1827-10-01) (aged 49)
Brownington, Vermont, U.S.
Resting placeBrownington Village Cemetery, Brownington, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyFederalist
SpouseLydia Ashley
Children8 (including Portus Baxter and Carlos Baxter)
RelativesJedediah Hyde Baxter (grandson)
OccupationAttorney

William Baxter (August 3, 1778 – October 1, 1827) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the state's attorney for Orleans County, Vermont from 1802 to 1815, and in the Vermont House of Representatives on several non-consecutive occasions between 1802 and 1827.

Born in Norwich, Vermont, Baxter was the second person admitted to the bar in Orleans County. He held multiple elected offices and paid for the construction of a school in Orleans County. He fathered Portus Baxter and Carlos Baxter before dying with an estate worth $100,000.

Early life

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The Baxter family came from Norwich, England, to Norwich, Connecticut, in 1632. Members of the family moved to Norwich, Vermont in 1777, including Elihu Baxter and his wife Triphena Taylor. William Baxter, the oldest of the couple's 15 children, was born in Norwich, on August 3, 1778.[1] On April 17, 1799, he married Lydia Ashley. They were the parents of 8 children, including Portus Baxter and Carlos Baxter.[2]

Career

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Baxer studied law under Daniel Buck. On November 23, 1801, he was the second person admitted to the bar of Orleans County, Vermont.[3] Moving to Brownington, Vermont, in 1801,[4] he earned around $4,000 per year.[2] In 1814, he was among a group asking the state legislature for a turnpike between Sutton and Brownington.[5] In 1822, he formed a legal partnership with George Carlton West.[6]

Active in politics as a Federalist,[7] he was the state's attorney of Orleans County from 1802 to 1815, one of the county's assistant judges from 1825 to 1827,[8][9] and a justice of the peace.[10] He represented Brownington in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1802 to 1803, 1806 to 1818, 1819 to 1822, 1824 to 1825, and 1826 to 1827,[2][11] and as a delegate to the 1822 constitutional convention.[12]

In 1812, Baxter was a member of a four person committee to determine if Montpelier, Vermont, should remain the capital, but made no decision and referred the issue to be discussed again during the next legislative session.[13] He proposed legislation to create a new school in Orleans County in 1820, and personally paid for its construction under the condition that the second floor be used for religious worship. The second floor was used for religious worship until the construction of a church in 1841.[2][14]

Titus Hutchinson, Calvin Yale, William Nutting, and Baxter were elected to the board of trustees of the University of Vermont in 1819.[15] Ira H. Allen was appointed to replace Baxter board of trustees after his death.[16][17]

Death

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Baxter died in Brownington on October 1, 1827,[18] and was buried at Brownington Village Cemetery.[19] At the time of Baxter's death he had an estate worth $100,000 (equivalent to $2,779,118 in 2024),[2] and West was left to administer it.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Baldwin 1886, pp. 46–47.
  2. ^ a b c d e Baldwin 1886, p. 48.
  3. ^ Baldwin 1886, p. 47.
  4. ^ History 1882, p. 93.
  5. ^ Walton 1878, p. 69.
  6. ^ Baldwin 1886, p. 75.
  7. ^ Walton 1877, p. 398.
  8. ^ Baldwin 1886, pp. 47–48.
  9. ^ Comstock 1918, p. 331; 333.
  10. ^ Thompson 1823, pp. 75–76.
  11. ^ Comstock 1918, p. 97.
  12. ^ Comstock 1918, p. 280.
  13. ^ Walton 1877, p. 432.
  14. ^ Kuchle 2023.
  15. ^ Walton 1878, p. 276.
  16. ^ Trustee 1827, p. 1.
  17. ^ Walton 1879, p. 294.
  18. ^ Died: William Baxter 1827, p. 3.
  19. ^ Boykin 2024.
  20. ^ Baldwin 1886, p. 76.

Works cited

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Books

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  • The History of Orleans County, Vermont: Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biogrpahical and Military (PDF). White River Paper. 1882.
  • Baldwin, Frederick (1886). Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont. Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press.
  • Thompson, Zadock (1823). Walton's Vermont Register and Farmer's Almanack. E.P. Walton.
  • Comstock, John, ed. (1918). A List of the Principal Civil Officers of Vermont From 1777 to 1918. St. Albans Messenger.
  • Walton, Eliakim P., ed. (1877). Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont. Vol. 5. Montpelier, Vermont: J. & J. M. Poland.
  • Walton, Eliakim P., ed. (1878). Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont. Vol. 6. Montpelier, Vermont: J. & J. M. Poland.
  • Walton, Eliakim P., ed. (1879). Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont. Vol. 7. Montpelier, Vermont: J. & J. M. Poland.

News

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Web

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