Charles Davis (Vermont judge)

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Charles Davis (January 1, 1789 – November 21, 1863) was a Vermont attorney and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1846 to 1847.

Biography[]

Charles Davis was born in Mansfield, Connecticut on January 1, 1789,[1] the son of Philip Davis (d. 1822) and Christiana (Crosby) Davis.[2] Philip Davis moved his family to Rockingham, Vermont in 1792, and Middlebury, Vermont in 1806.[1] Davis was educated in Rockingham and Middlebury, and in 1808 was admitted to the sophomore class at Middlebury College.[1] He graduated in 1811, and began to study law with Daniel Chipman.[1]

Davis edited the Vermont Mirror, a newspaper opposed to the War of 1812, but also served in the Vermont Militia when Vermont was threatened by a British invasion from Canada.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1814, and practiced in Middlebury until moving to Barton in 1816.[1] In 1818, he moved to Waterford, and in 1828 he moved to Danville.[1] In 1828, Davis was elected State's Attorney of Caledonia County, and he served until 1835.[2] In 1831, Davis served as Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives.[2] He returned to the State's Attorney position in 1838, and served until 1839.[2]

Davis became a Whig when the party was founded.[1][2] When Whig nominee William Henry Harrison won the presidency in 1841, Davis was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Vermont; he served until 1845, when he became Judge of the Caledonia County Probate Court.[2] He served until 1846, when he was appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court.[2] He was a member of the Supreme Court until 1848, when he resumed the practice of law in Danville.[2] In 1851, he was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, and served one term.[2]

Retirement and death[]

In retirement, Davis and his wife moved to Rockford, Illinois, where they resided with their son Isaac Fletcher Davis.[1] Charles Davis died in Rockford on November 21, 1863.[1] He was buried at Cedar Bluff Cemetery in Rockford.[3]

Family[]

In 1814, Davis married Lucinda Stone of Chesterfield, New Hampshire (d. 1884).[1] They were the parents of five children: Charles; Philip; Norman; Isaac Fletcher; and Ellen.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont, pp. 65–69.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College, p. 18.
  3. ^ "Burials at Cedar Bluff Cemetery".

Sources[]

Books[]

  • Baldwin, Frederick W. (1886). Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press.
  • Wiley, Edgar J. (1917). Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College.

Internet[]

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
Newly created seat
 Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
1846–1848 		Succeeded by
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