Robert Pierpoint (Vermont politician)

Robert Pierpoint (May 4, 1791 – September 23, 1864) was a Vermont politician and lawyer who served as Lieutenant Governor from 1848 to 1850.

Robert Pierpoint, Vermont Lieutenant Governor

Early life

Robert Pierpoint was born in Litchfield, Connecticut on May 4, 1791, the son of Daniel and Sarah (Phelps) Pierpoint. His brother, John Pierpoint served as Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. He moved to Manchester, Vermont at age seven and lived with an uncle. At age 16 he began to study law with Governor Richard Skinner, and in 1812 he was admitted to the bar and began a practice, first in Manchester, and later in Rutland.[1][2]

Political career

Pierpoint was a U.S. Tax Collector for the War of 1812 and served as Rutland County Clerk from 1820 to 1839. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1819 and 1823, and he was a member of the Governor's Council from 1825 to 1831. Pierpoint was also a Delegate to the Vermont constitutional conventions of 1822 and 1828, and he served as Rutland County's Probate Judge from 1832 to 1833. He was Clerk of the Vermont House from 1832 to 1834.[3][4]

A Whig after the founding of that party, he served in the Vermont Senate from 1836 to 1840.[5] From 1848 to 1850 Pierpoint was Lieutenant Governor, and he was a Circuit Court Judge from 1850 to 1856.[6][7][8]

Later life

Pierpoint was an original incorporator of the National Life Insurance Company.[9] He served in the Vermont House of Representatives for the final time in 1857. He was also a longtime trustee of the University of Vermont, and received honorary degrees from that institution and Middlebury College.[10][11]

Death and burial

He died in Rutland on September 23, 1864 and was buried in Rutland's Evergreen Cemetery.[12][13]

References

1. Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, by Hiram Carleton, 1903, page 328
2. Early History of Vermont, by LaFayette Wilbur, Volume 4, 1903, pages 410 to 411
3. Vermont: Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, edited by E. P. Walton, Montpelier, Volume 7, 1879, pages 159 to 160, page 393
4. 1781 Rutland County 1881: Centennial Celebration, published by Rutland County Historical Society, 1882, page 104
5. History of Rutland County, Vermont, Part 1, Henry Perry Smith, William S. Rann, 1886, page 146
6. General Election Results, Vermont Lieutenant Governor, 1813-2011, Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011, pages 7 to 8
7. Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont, compiled by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, page 183
8. Catalogue of the Principal Officers of Vermont, by Leonard Deming, 1851, page 73
9. Charters of American Life Insurance Companies, published by Spectator Company, New York, 1895, page 81
10. Catalogue of officers and students of Middlebury College, published by the college, 1901, page 227
11. General Catalogue of the University of Vermont, published by the university, 1901, page 222
12. The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, edited by Abby Maria Hemenway, Volume 3, 1877, pages 1110 to 1112
13. Gravestone photos by contributor Jen Snoote, Robert Pierpoint page, Find A Grave web site, April 13, 2010