Samuel Hitchcock

Samuel Hitchcock (March 23, 1755 – November 30, 1813) was the 1st Attorney General of Vermont, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont and a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. He was the son-in-law of Ethan Allen and the father of Ethan A. Hitchcock and Henry Hitchcock.

Education and career Hitchcock was born in Brimfield, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America, on March 23, 1755. He graduated from Harvard College in 1777, read law with Jedediah Foster in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, attained admission to the bar, and practiced in Worcester, Massachusetts. He moved to Manchester, Vermont in 1784, where he continued to practice law.

Hitchcock continued private practice in Burlington, Vermont from 1786 to 1787.

In 1791, Hitchcock was a delegate to the Vermont convention which ratified the United States Constitution and enabled Vermont to join the Union as the 14th state, and was an unsuccessful candidate in its 1st congressional district. Hitchcock drafted the charter for the University of Vermont, was an original member of its board of trustees, and was the longtime secretary of the board. In 1792, he was one of Vermont's presidential electors, casting his ballots for Washington for President and Adams for Vice President. He again ran for the 1st congressional district seat in 1796 as a Federalists but lost to Matthew Lyon after three ballots.

Federal judicial service Hitchcock received a recess appointment from President George Washington on September 3, 1793, to the seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge Nathaniel Chipman. He was buried in Burlington's Elmwood Cemetery.

Family Hitchcock was the son of Noah and Mary Hitchcock. He was married to Lucy Caroline Allen (1768–1842), the daughter of Ethan Allen. Their children who lived to adulthood included Lorraine Allen Hitchcock, Henry Hitchcock, Mary Anne Hitchcock, Ethan A. Hitchcock, Caroline P. Hitchcock, and Samuel Hitchcock.

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