Jonas Galusha
| Jonas Galusha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 6th Governor of Vermont | |
| In office 1809–1813 | |
| Lieutenant | Paul Brigham |
| Preceded by | Isaac Tichenor |
| Succeeded by | Martin Chittenden |
| 8th Governor of Vermont | |
| In office 1815–1820 | |
| Lieutenant | Paul Brigham |
| Preceded by | Martin Chittenden |
| Succeeded by | Richard Skinner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 11, 1753 Norwich, Connecticut |
| Died | September 24, 1834 (aged 81) Shaftsbury, Vermont |
| Political party | Democratic Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Chittenden |
| Profession | Judge / Politician |
Jonas Galusha (February 11, 1753 – September 24, 1834) was the sixth and eighth Governor of Vermont for two terms in the early 19th century.
Biography
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 his brother David was a colonel in the Green Mountain Boys, and Galusha was a captain, fighting in the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777.[1]
In 1778, Galusha married Mary Chittenden, daughter of Thomas Chittenden, Governor of the independent Republic of Vermont. The couple had nine children.[2]
Career
A farmer and an inn-keeper, Galusha was elected to 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 after admission to the Union. (The Council of Censors met every seven years to review statutes passed by the Vermont General Assembly 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.[3] During that time, his wife, Mary, died in 1794; and he subsequently married Martha "Patty" Sammons, who died in 1797.
Galusha was a county Assistant Judge from 1795 to 1798, and Judge from 1800 to 1806. He was a Judge of the Vermont Supreme 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 candidacy of James Madison.
The following year, Galusha was elected Governor of Vermont, serving until 1813.[4] He was both the predecessor and the successor of the Federalist Martin Chittenden, brother of Galusha's first wife, Mary Chittenden. During his governorship, he encouraged war with England in 1812. In 1814 he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Galusha served another term as Governor of Vermont, elected year by year from 1815 to 1820. He was a presidential elector in the 1820 and 1824 elections.
Death
Galusha's fourth wife, Abigail "Nabby" Atwater Beach Galusha died in 1831.[5] He died of a stroke in Shaftsbury in 1834. He was active in the Baptist Church. He is interred at the Center Shaftsbury Cemetery, Shaftsbury, Center Shaftsbury, Bennington County, Vermont.[6]
References
- ↑ "Jonas Galusha". Vermont Historical Society. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ↑ "Jonas Galusha". National Governors Association. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ↑ "Jonas Galusha". Vermont Historical Society. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ↑ "Jonas Galusha". National Governors Association. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ↑ "Jonas Galusha". The Political Graveyaard. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ↑ "Jonas Galusha". Find A Grave. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jonas Galusha. |
- Jonas Galusha: A Memoir by Pliny H. White (1866)
- Vermont Historical Society
- National Governors Association
- The Political Graveyard
- Find A Grave
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