Nathaniel Chipman

Nathaniel Chipman
United States Senator from Vermont
In office October 17, 1797 – March 4, 1803
Preceded by	Isaac Tichenor
Succeeded by	Israel Smith
Personal details
Born	November 15, 1752(1752-11-15) Salisbury, Connecticut
Died	February 13, 1843(1843-02-13) (aged 90) Tinmouth, Vermont
Political party	Federalist

Nathaniel Chipman (November 15, 1752 – February 13, 1843) was a United States Senator from Vermont, and Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.

Born in Salisbury, Connecticut, Chipman was privately tutored. He received his degree from Yale College in 1777 while in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. From 1777 to 1778 he served as a lieutenant in 2nd Connecticut Regiment.

After his military service, Chipman studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1779, commencing practice in Tinmouth, Vermont. He was a State's attorney in Montpelier, Vermont from 1781 to 1785, and a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1784 and 1785, and was elected as judge of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1786 and chosen chief justice in 1789. On March 4, 1791, Chipman was nominated by President George Washington to be a federal judge on the newly established United States District Court for the District of Vermont, created by 1 Stat. 73. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 4, 1791, and received his commission the same day. Chipman resigned on January 1, 1793, and was again elected chief justice of the State supreme court in 1796.

Chipman was elected as a Federalist to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Isaac Tichenor and served from October 17, 1797, until March 4, 1803; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. From 1806 to 1811 he was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, was a member of the Vermont Council of Censors in 1813, and was again chief justice of Vermont from 1813 to 1815. He was a professor of law at Middlebury College beginning in 1816.

He died in Tinmouth in 1843; interment was in the Tinmouth Cemetery.

Nathaniel Chipman was a brother of Daniel Chipman and grandfather of John Logan Chipman, U.S. Representatives from Vermont and Michigan, respectively.

References

• Nathaniel Chipman at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Nathaniel Chipman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Service record from Francis B. Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army

United States Senate
Preceded by Isaac Tichenor	United States Senator (Class 1) from Vermont 1797–1803 Served alongside: Elijah Paine, Stephen R. Bradley	Succeeded by Israel Smith
Honorary titles
Preceded by Samuel Smith	Oldest living U.S. Senator April 22, 1839-February 13, 1843	Succeeded by Asher Robbins
Legal offices
Preceded by Newly created seat	Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont March 4, 1791 - January 1, 1793	Succeeded by Samuel Hitchcock