Charles Bayley Adams (September 2, 1887 – February 6, 1961) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and attorney who served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

and a justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

Early life

Charles Bayley Adams was born in

Randolph, Vermont Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,774 at the 2020 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that s ...

on September 2, 1887, a son of Jairus B. Adams and Effie (Thurston) Adams. He was educated in the public schools of Randolph, and graduated from the State Normal School in Randolph in 1905 and Montpelier Seminary in 1907. Adams received his bachelor of laws degree from the

University of Maine School of Law The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's ...

in 1913 and settled in

Waterbury, Vermont Waterbury is a town in Washington County in central Vermont, United States. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As o ...

, where he established a law practice.

Start of career

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Adams served in local offices including town lister (1917–1918), and

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...

and village clerk (1919 – 1937). From 1920 to 1926 he served as Washington County

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

. Adams was elected to the Vermont Senate in 1930 and served two terms, 1931 to 1935. From 1933 to 1935 he was the Senate's President Pro Tem. In 1934 Adams was elected to the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

. He was reelected in 1936, and served from 1935 until 1937, when he resigned.

Judicial career

Adams resigned from the House to accept appointment as a Judge of the

Vermont Superior Court The Judiciary of Vermont is the state court system of Vermont, charged with Vermont law. Vermont Constitution The Vermont courts are established in the Vermont Constitution in sections 28-41 (Judiciary Department). The justices of the Vermont S ...

, where he served from 1937 to 1949. In 1949 Adams was elevated to the Vermont Supreme Court, succeeding the retiring

John S. Buttles John S. Buttles (January 20, 1877 – May 18, 1949) was an American attorney and judge. He served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1937 to 1949. Early life John Stephen Buttles was born in Troy, New York on January 20, 1 ...

, and he served as an associate justice until retiring in 1959.

Death and burial

Adams died in

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

on February 9, 1961. He was buried in Waterbury's Hope Cemetery.

Family

In 1916, Adams married Jeanette Metzger of Randolph. They were the parents of two children, Charles and Catherine. Adams' son Charles J. Adams served as

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont Attorney General is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

from 1962 to 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Charles B. 1887 births 1961 deaths People from Randolph, Vermont People from Waterbury, Vermont University of Maine School of Law alumni Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Vermont state court judges Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Burials in Vermont 20th-century American judges 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American lawyers