Thomas E. Powers

Thomas E. Powers (November 14, 1808 – December 27, 1876) was a Vermont doctor, newspaper editor and politician who served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Vermont Senate.

Biography

Thomas E. Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont on November 14, 1808. He attended Castleton Medical College for two years before continuing to study at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1827.[1]

Powers practiced in Hartland and Woodstock before abandoning medicine for other pursuits. Active in politics as a Whig and an advocate of the Temperance movement, Powers edited newspapers dedicated to both causes.[2]

From 1846 to 1849, Powers served as Assistant Secretary of the Vermont Senate.[3]

Powers served several terms in the Vermont House of Representatives in the 1850s, and was Speaker from 1850 to 1853.[4]

In 1857, Powers was appointed superintendent of the construction of the Vermont State House, erecting the current building to replace one destroyed by fire.[5]

Powers served in the Vermont Senate during the American Civil War, and was appointed President pro tempore in 1861.[6]

In 1862, Powers was appointed federal revenue assessor for southern Vermont, and he served until 1871.[7]

Powers died in Woodstock on December 27, 1876. He was buried in Woodstock's River Street Cemetery.[8]

The Thomas E. Powers House at 2 Church Street in Woodstock was built in 1825. As of 2011 the St. James Episcopal Church of Woodstock was considering purchasing it for use as a rectory.[9]

References
  1. The Bibliography of Vermont, by Marcus Davis Gilman, 1897, pages 215 to 216
  2. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windsor County, Vt., for 1883-84, by Hamilton Child, Volume 1, 1884, page 50
  3. Journal of the Senate of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1848, page 4
  4. List of Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives Archived 2012-07-20 at Archive.today, published by Vermont Secretary of State, Archives and Records Administration, 2012
  5. Journal of the House of the State of Vermont, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1867, page 46
  6. Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives (2011). "List of Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate". leg.state.vt.us. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  7. Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1868, page 216
  8. History of Woodstock, Vt., by Henry Swan Dana, 1889, pages 359 to 360
  9. Profile, St. James Episcopal Church, published by the church, 2011, page 17
Political offices
Preceded by
William C. Kittredge		 Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
1850–1853		 Succeeded by
Horatio Needham
Preceded by
Frederick E. Woodbridge		 President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate
1861–1861		 Succeeded by
Henry E. Stoughton
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