Thomas Chittenden
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder
Thomas Chittenden (January 6, 1730Template:SpndAugust 25, 1797) was an American politician from Vermont, who was a leader of the territory for nearly two decades. He was the state's first and third governor, serving from 1778 to 1789—when it was a largely unrecognized independent state now called the Vermont Republic—and again from 1790 until his death. Vermont was admitted to the Union in 1791 as its 14th state.
Early and personal life
Thomas Chittenden was born in East Guilford in the Connecticut Colony on January 6, 1730. He lost one of his eyes and was referred to as "one eye Tom" by his opponents.Template:Sfn He married Elizabeth Meigs on October 4, 1749, in Salisbury, Connecticut. They had four sons and six daughters while they were living in Connecticut, all of whom survived to adulthood.
Career
Chittenden served as a justice of the peace and in the Connecticut Colonial Assembly from 1765 to 1769.Template:Sfn He served in Connecticut's 14th Regiment of Militia from 1767 to 1773, rising to the rank of colonel.
Chittenden was one of the residents of Salisbury, Connecticut, who purchased land from the Onion River Land Company run by Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, Heman Allen, and Remember Baker.Template:Sfn Chittenden moved to the New Hampshire Grants, now Vermont, in 1774, where he was the first settler in the town of Williston.
Chittenden was a delegate to the 1777 constitutional convention that established Vermont's constitution and drafted its Declaration of Independence. Chittenden was selected as governor of the Vermont Republic on March 12, 1778, by the legislature and Joseph Marsh was selected as lieutenant governor.Template:Sfn
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 to avoid antagonizing the states of New York and New Hampshire, which had competing claims against Vermont. During the period of the Vermont Republic, Chittenden served as governor from 1778 to 1789 and 1790 to 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
After Vermont entered the federal Union in 1791 as its 14th state, Chittenden continued as governor until his death in 1797.<ref name="Thomas Chittenden">Template:Cite web</ref>
Death
Chittenden died in Williston on August 25, 1797, and is interred at Thomas Chittenden Cemetery, Williston, Chittenden County, Vermont. Citing Vermont's tumultuous founding, his epitaph reads: "Out of storm and manifold perils rose an enduring state, the home of freedom and unity."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Legacy and honors
In 1894, a monument to Chittenden was begun at the entrance to the cemetery in Williston which is named for him; it was dedicated in 1896.<ref name="Baynes">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Kelley">Template:Cite news</ref> The portrait is based on a likeness of one of Chittenden's grandsons, who was believed to resemble Chittenden.<ref name="Kelley"/> In the late 1990s, a bronze sculpture of Chittenden, which was created by Frank Gaylord, was placed on the grounds of the State House near the building's west entrance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another Chittenden statue, also created by Gaylord, was erected in front of the Williston Central School.<ref name="Baynes"/> Chittenden County is named for him,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as is the town of Chittenden in Rutland County.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
See also
References
Works cited
External links
Template:S-start Template:S-off Template:Succession box Template:S-end