Samuel Hitchcock
Samuel Hitchcock (March 23, 1755 – November 20, 1813) was an attorney and judge in Vermont.
Hitchcock was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1777. he studied law, attained admission to the bar, and practiced in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He moved to Burlington, Vermont and practiced law. He was state's attorney for Chittenden County, Vermont from 1787 to 1790, when he became the first Attorney General of Vermont, serving from 1790 to 1793. He served simultaneously, from 1789 to 1793, as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.
Hitchcock drafted the charter for the University of Vermont and was an original member of its board of trustees.
In 1792 he was one of Vermont's presidential electors, casting his ballots for Washington for President and Adams for Vice President.
He received a recess appointment from President George Washington on September 3, 1793 to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Nathaniel Chipman. Hitchcock was formally nominated on December 27, 1793, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 30, 1793, and received his commission on January 28, 1794.
On February 18, 1801, Hitchcock was nominated by President John Adams to a seat on the newly created United States circuit court for the Second Circuit, created by 2 Stat. 89, also known as the Midnight Judges Act. Hitchcock was confirmed to this seat by the Senate on February 20, 1801, and received the same day. However, his service terminated on July 1, 1802, with the repeal of the act that created the circuit courts. Hitchcock thereafter returned to private practice in Burlington, Vermont and Vergennes, Vermont until his death in Burlington.
Judge Hitchcock was married to Lucy Caroline Allen (1768-1842), the daughter of Ethan Allen. Their children included Ethan Allen Hitchcock, a United States Army Major General,[1] and Henry Hitchcock, a Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.[2] His grandson, Ethan Hitchcock, was the son of Henry and served as United States Secretary of the Interior under William McKinley. Another of Henry's sons, Henry Hitchcock, was a prominent attorney in St. Louis, Missouri.
References
- ↑ William Richard Cutter, American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, Volume 11, 1922, page 211
- ↑ American Bar Association, Annual Report: Including Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, Volume 25, 1902, page 772
Sources
- Samuel Hitchcock at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nathaniel Chipman |
Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont September 3, 1793 – February 20, 1801 |
Succeeded by Elijah Paine |
| Preceded by Newly created seat |
Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the third circuit February 20, 1801 – July 1, 1802 |
Succeeded by Seat abolished |