Isaac Tichenor

Isaac Tichenor
3rd Governor of Vermont
In office 1797–1807
Lieutenant	Paul Brigham
Preceded by	Paul Brigham
Succeeded by	Israel Smith
5th Governor of Vermont
In office 1808–1809
Lieutenant	Paul Brigham
Preceded by	Israel Smith
Succeeded by	Jonas Galusha
Personal details
Born	(1754-02-08)February 8, 1754 Newark, New Jersey
Died	December 11, 1838(1838-12-11) (aged 84) Bennington, Vermont
Political party	Federalist
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth
Profession	jurist and a United States Senator

Isaac Tichenor (February 8, 1754 – December 11, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the third and fifth Governor of Vermont and United States Senator from Vermont.

Biography

Tichenor was born in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from Princeton University in 1775 and moved for a short while to Schenectady, New York where he studied law.

Career

In 1777, Tichenor moved to Bennington, Vermont and served as an Assistant Commissary General during the American Revolution. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1781 to 1784 and served as Speaker of the House in 1783. He was an agent from the state to the Continental Congress and presented Vermont's claim for admission to the Union from 1782 to 1789.

In 1791 Tichenor ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the United States House of Representatives against Matthew Lyon and Israel Smith, receiving 29% of the vote in the first round. He was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1791 to 1794, and Chief Justice in 1795 and 1796. In 1796 he was elected to fill the unexpired term of Moses Robinson in the United States Senate beginning on October 18, 1796. He was re-elected to a full six-year term to begin on March 4, 1797, but he resigned on October 17, 1797, when he was elected Governor of Vermont. He remained until he was defeated for reelection by Israel Smith in 1807. He defeated Smith in 1808 and remained Governor until he was succeeded by Jonas Galusha in 1809.

Tichenor was a member of the United States Federalist Party; when that party dominated the federal government in the 1790s many leading politicians in Vermont opposed the party. In 1815, Tichenor returned to the United States Senate, where he served until 1821 when the Federalist Party ceased to exist.

Death

Tichenor died in Bennington on December 11, 1838, and is interred at Bennington Village Cemetery, Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont.

Further reading

• Crockett, Walter H., "Isaac Tichenor", Vermonters: A Book of Biographies, Brattleboro: Stephen Daye Press, 1931, pp. 220–223.

External links

• Isaac Tichenor at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• govtrack.us
• The Political Graveyard
• National Governors Association
• Find A Grave
• Vermont History and Genealogy: Men of Vermont – Isaac Tichenor

United States Senate
Preceded by Moses Robinson	United States Senator (Class 1) from Vermont 1796–1797 Served alongside: Elijah Paine	Succeeded by Nathaniel Chipman
Preceded by Jonathan Robinson	United States Senator (Class 1) from Vermont 1815–1821 Served alongside: Dudley Chase, James Fisk, William A. Palmer	Succeeded by Horatio Seymour