William Slade

William Slade
17th Governor of Vermont
In office October 11, 1844 – October 9, 1846
Lieutenant	Horace Eaton
Preceded by	John Mattocks
Succeeded by	Horace Eaton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont's 2nd district
In office November 1, 1831 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	Rollin Carolas Mallary
Succeeded by	Jacob Collamer
Secretary of State of Vermont
In office 1815–1823
Preceded by	Josiah Dunham
Succeeded by	Norman Williams
Personal details
Born	William Slade, Jr. May 9, 1786 Cornwall, Vermont
Died	January 16, 1859 (aged 72) Middlebury, Vermont
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Abigail Foot Slade
Children	Esther Slade, James M. Slade, Mary Groves Slade, Jane Martha Slade, Henry Clay Slade, Samuel Slade, Charles Slade, Henry M. Slade
Profession	lawyer/editor/politician

William Slade, Jr. (May 9, 1786 – January 18, 1859) was an American Whig and Anti-Masonic politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont and the seventeenth Governor of Vermont.

Biography

Slade was born in Cornwall, Vermont on May 9, 1786, the son of William Slade and Rebecca Plumb.^[1] He attended the public schools and graduated from Middlebury College in 1807 with fellow classmates Daniel Azro Ashley Buck and Stephen Royce.^[2] He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1810. He began the practice of law in Middlebury, Vermont. Slide married Abigail Foot Slade on February 5, 1810 in Middlebury. They had eight children.^[3] His son James M. Slade served as Lieutenant Governor from 1856 to 1857. William Slade was a Democratic-Republican presidential elector in 1812 and 1820.^[4]

Slade engaged in editorial work; he established and was editor of the Columbian Patriot from 1814 to 1816 and maintained a book store and printing office.^[5] He was Vermont Secretary of State from 1815 to 1822, Judge of the Addison County Court from 1816 to 1822,^[6] and Clerk in the US State Department in Washington, D.C. from 1823 to 1829.^[7]

Slade was elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Rollin C. Mallary. He was reelected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses and as a Whig candidate to the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, serving from November 1, 1831 to March 3, 1843.^[8]

While a Representative, he reacted to the first attempt to introduce the Twenty First Rule, which temporarily institutionalized the United States House of Representatives' refusal to discuss slavery. Slade launched into an immediate filibuster, which delayed the passage of the bill by several days.^{[9] [10]}

Slade was the reporter of decisions of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1843 and 1844. He served as Governor of Vermont from 1844 to 1846, defeating Democratic nominee Daniel Kellogg in both of his elections for one year terms.^[11][12] During his tenure, public schools were successfully reorganized.

After leaving office, Slade was corresponding secretary of the Board of National Popular Education from 1846 to 1859, which he co-founded with Catharine Beecher. The Board worked to place female teachers in schools in western United States.^[13]

Death

Slade died in Middlebury, Vermont on January 18, 1859, and is interred at West Cemetery in Middlebury.^[14]

Published works

• "Vermont State Papers" (Middlebury, 1823),
• "The Laws of Vermont to 1824" (Windsor, 1825)
• "Reports of the Supreme Court of Vermont, Vol. XV," (Burlington, 1844).

References

1. "William Slade of Windsor, Connecticut". ancestry.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
2. Partridge, Henry Villiers (1905). A History of Norwich, Vermont. Dartmouth Press. p. 175. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
3. "Abigail Foot Slade". Find A Grave. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
4. "Slade, William (1786-1859)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
5. "Vermont Governor William Slade". National Governors Office. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
6. "SLADE, William, (1786 - 1859)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
7. "William Slade". Find A Grave. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
8. "Rep. William Slade". govtrack.us. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
9. "SLADE, William, (1786 - 1859)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
10. "Vermont Representative William Slade’s antislavery speech in the 25th Congress". Office of the Clerk US House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
11. "Vermont Governor William Slade". National Governors Office. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
12. Austin Jacobs Coolidge, John Brainard Mansfield, A History and Description of New England, General and Local, 1860, page 997
13. Morton, Zylpha S. Harriet Bishop, Frontier Teacher (PDF).
14. "William Slade". Find A Grave. Retrieved October 30, 2012.

External links

• William Slade at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard
• trust.com
• Find A Grave
• govtrack.us
• National Governors Office
• Vermont: The Official State Website
• Office of the Clerk US House of Representatives: Vermont Representative William Slade’s antislavery speech in the 25th Congress
• ancestry.com