Thomas Porter (Vermont politician)

Thomas Porter (February 15, 1734 – May 30, 1833) was a Connecticut and Vermont military and political figure who served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.

Biography

Thomas Porter was born in Farmington, Connecticut on February 15, 1734 and became a farmer in Cornwall. He served with the British during the French and Indian War and held several local offices, including the Connecticut House of Representatives.^[1][2]

Porter served against the British at the start of the American Revolution as a Captain in the Connecticut Militia, and relocated to Tinmouth, Vermont in 1779.^[3]

In 1780 Porter was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He served until 1782 and was Speaker of the House during his entire House tenure.^[4]

Porter resigned as Speaker to accept election to the Governor's Council, on which he served until 1795.^[5]

From 1781 to 1782 Porter was Assistant Judge of the Rutland County Court, and he was the court's Chief Judge from 1788 to 1789.^[6]

In 1783 Porter became a Judge on the Vermont Supreme Court, serving until 1785.^[7]

He died in Granville, New York on May 30, 1833.^[8]

Porter was the father of college president and theologian Ebenezer Porter.^[9]

References

1. Men of Vermont Illustrated, by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, page 174
2. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, by New England Historic Genealogical Society, Volume 9, 1855, page 54
3. Magazine article, The Supreme Court of Vermont, The Green Bag: A Useless but Entertaining Magazine for Lawyers, by Russell S. Taft, January, 1894 (Volume 6 Number 1), page 22
4. List of Speakers of the Vermont House of representatives, published by Vermont Secretary of State, Archives and Records Administration, 2012
5. Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, published by E. P. Walton, (Montpelier), Volume 3, 1875, pages 1 to 2
6. History of Rutland County, Vermont, by H. P. Smith and W. S. Rann, 1886, pages 142 to 143
7. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Vermont, by Daniel Chipman, Volume 1, 1824, page 6
8. Annals of the American Pulpit: Trinitarian Congregational, by William Buell Sprague, 1857, page 351
9. Memoir of the Life and Character of Ebenezer Porter, by Lyman Matthews, 1837, page 23