Elijah Paine

Elijah Paine
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
In office
March 3, 1801 – April 1, 1842
Appointed byJohn Adams
Preceded bySamuel Hitchcock
Succeeded bySamuel Prentiss
United States Senator
from Vermont
In office
March 4, 1795 – September 1, 1801
Preceded byStephen R. Bradley
Succeeded byStephen R. Bradley
Personal details
Born
Elijah Paine

(1757-01-21)January 21, 1757
Brooklyn, Connecticut Colony, British America
DiedApril 28, 1842(1842-04-28) (aged 85)
Williamstown, Vermont, US
Resting placeWest Hill Cemetery
Williamstown, Vermont
Political partyFederalist
ChildrenCharles Paine
EducationHarvard University (A.B.)
read law

Elijah Paine (January 21, 1757 – April 28, 1842) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont, a United States senator from Vermont and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.

Education and career

Born on January 21, 1757, in Brooklyn, Connecticut Colony, British America,[1] Paine attended the public schools and served in the Continental Army from 1776 to 1777, during the American Revolutionary War.[1] He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1781 from Harvard University and read law in 1784.[1] He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Windsor, Vermont from 1784 to 1787.[1] He cultivated a farm and began a settlement at Williamstown, Vermont.[2] He established a cloth factory and a saw and grist mill in Northfield, Vermont.[2] He was secretary of the Vermont constitutional convention in 1786.[2] He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1787 to 1789.[1] He was a Judge of the Probate Court for the Randolph District of Vermont from 1788 to 1791.[1] He was a justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont from 1791 to 1793.[1] In 1793, Paine ran for Vermont's 2nd congressional district, finishing a distant second to Anti-Federalist incumbent Nathaniel Niles.[3]

Congressional service

Paine was elected to the United States Senate from Vermont in 1794.[2] He was reelected as a Federalist in 1800 and served from March 4, 1795, to September 1, 1801, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial post.[2][4]

Federal judicial service

Paine was nominated by President John Adams on February 24, 1801, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge Samuel Hitchcock.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 25, 1801, and received his commission on March 3, 1801.[1] His service terminated on April 1, 1842, due to his resignation.[1]

Other service

Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Paine served as Postmaster of Williamstown, Vermont from 1815 to 1842.[1]

Death

Paine died on April 28, 1842, in Williamstown.[1][5]

Family

The son of Seth Paine, Paine married Sarah Porter of Plymouth, New Hampshire.[6] They had four sons; Martin Paine, an eminent physician; Elijah Paine Jr., a judge of the New York Supreme Court; George Paine, a prominent lawyer; and Charles Paine, who was Governor of Vermont from 1841 to 1843.[6]

Memberships

Paine was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1812,[7] and a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Elijah Paine at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ a b c d e United States Congress. "Elijah Paine (id: P000026)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  3. ^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  4. ^ "Elijah Paine, former Senator for Vermont". GovTrack.us.
  5. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Paine". politicalgraveyard.com.
  6. ^ a b Dodge, Prentiss Cutler (July 10, 1912). Encyclopedia, Vermont Biography: A Series of Authentic Biographical Sketches of the Representative Men of Vermont and Sons of Vermont in Other States. 1912. Ullery publishing Company. p. 56 – via Internet Archive. Paine.
  7. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter P" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  8. ^ "MemberListP". American Antiquarian Society.

Sources