Thomas Chittenden
| Thomas Chittenden | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Official state portrait of Governor Thomas Chittenden | |
| 1st Governor of Vermont Republic | |
| In office 1778–1789 |
|
| Lieutenant | Joseph Marsh |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Moses Robinson |
| 3rd Governor of Vermont Republic | |
| In office 1790–1791 |
|
| Lieutenant | Peter Olcott |
| Preceded by | Moses Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Himself as Governor of the State of Vermont |
| 1st Governor of Vermont | |
| In office 1791–1797 |
|
| Lieutenant | Paul Brigham |
| Preceded by | Himself as Governor of the Vermont Republic |
| Succeeded by | Paul Brigham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 6, 1730 East Guilford, Connecticut |
| Died | August 25, 1797 (aged 67) Williston, Vermont |
| Political party | None |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Chittenden (January 6, 1730 – August 25, 1797) was an important figure in the founding of Vermont.
Chittenden was born in East Guilford, Connecticut and moved to Vermont in 1774, where he founded the town of Williston. During the American Revolution, Chittenden was a member of a committee empowered to negotiate with the Continental Congress to allow Vermont to join the Union. The Congress deferred the matter in order to not antagonize the states of New York and New Hampshire, which had competing claims against Vermont. In 1777, a convention was held in Windsor, which drafted Vermont's first constitution, establishing Vermont as an independent republic—the first republic in North America. During the Vermont Republic Chittenden served as governor from 1778–1789 and 1790–1791, and was one of the participants in a series of delicate negotiations with British authorities in Quebec over the possibility of establishing Vermont as a British province.
After Vermont entered the federal Union in 1791 as the fourteenth state, Chittenden continued to serve as governor until 1797 when he died in office. An engraved portrait of Chittenden can be found just outside the entrance to the Executive Chamber, the ceremonial office of the governor, at the Vermont State House at Montpelier. A bronze sculpture of Chittenden can also be found on the grounds of the Vermont State House near the building's west entrance. Thomas Chittenden was buried at Williston, Vermont. In the 1990s a statue of him was erected in front of the Williston Central School.
Citing Vermont's tumultuous founding, his epitaph reads "Out of storm and manifold perils rose an enduring state, the home of freedom and unity."
Chittenden married Elizabeth Meigs, also of East Guilford, Conn., on the 4th of October, 1749. They had four sons and six daughters, all of whom survived to adulthood. His great-grandson, Lucius E. Chittenden, served as Register of the Treasury in the Lincoln administration.
[edit] Books
- Frank Smallwood, Thomas Chittenden: Vermont's First Statesman, The New England Press : 1997, 304 S., ISBN 1-881535-27-4
|
|||||||||||
