Samuel Prentiss

Samuel Prentiss (March 31, 1782 – January 15, 1857) was an associate justice and chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, a United States senator from Vermont and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.

Education and career Born on March 31, 1782, in Stonington, Connecticut, Prentiss moved with his family to Worcester, Massachusetts, and then to Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1786, where he completed preparatory studies and was instructed in the classics by private tutor Reverend Samuel C. Allen. He studied law in Northfield with attorney Samuel Vose, and in Brattleboro, Vermont, with attorney John W. Blake in 1802. He was admitted to the bar in 1803 and practiced in Montpelier, Vermont until 1824.

Prentiss was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1824 to 1825. He was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1825 to 1829, and chief justice from 1829 to 1830.

Political affiliations and unsuccessful candidacy In addition to practicing law, Prentiss became active in politics, first as a Federalist, and later as a National Republican and Whig. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 1816.

Congressional service Prentiss was elected in 1831 to the United States Senate as a National Republican. He was reelected as a Whig in 1837 and served from March 4, 1831, to April 11, 1842, when he resigned to accept a judicial appointment. He was Chairman of the Committee on Patents and the Patent Office for the 27th United States Congress.

Anti-dueling statute While in the Senate, Prentiss was the originator and successful advocate of the law to suppress dueling in the District of Columbia.

Federal judicial service Prentiss was nominated by President John Tyler on April 8, 1842, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge Elijah Paine. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 8, 1842, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 15, 1857, due to his death in Montpelier. He was interred at Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.

Family The second of nine children born to Dr. Samuel Prentiss III and his wife Lucretia ( Holmes), Prentiss was the fourth in his line to be named Samuel Prentiss.

In 1804, Samuel Prentiss IV married Lucretia Houghton (1786–1855) of Northfield. They had twelve children, though at least two died in infancy. Their eighth child, Theodore Prentiss, moved to Wisconsin, where he served as the first mayor of Watertown, Wisconsin, and in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Notable law student Among the lawyers who received their education and training in Prentiss's office was William Upham, who later served in the United States Senate.

Other service and honors Prentiss was a trustee of Dartmouth College from 1820 to 1827; he received the honorary degrees of Artium Magister and Legum Doctor from Dartmouth in 1817 and 1832.