David Fay (December 13, 1761June 5, 1827) 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 ...

judge and militia officer who served on 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 ...

and as Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia.

Early life

David Fay was born in

Hardwick, Massachusetts Hardwick is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, about west of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 2,667 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hardwick, Gilbertville, Wheelwright and Old Furnace. Hist ...

on December 13, 1761. His father Stephen Fay, owner of Bennington's Catamount Tavern and one of the founders of

, relocated the family to Bennington in 1766. David Fay served in the Vermont Militia as a

fifer A fifer is a non-combatant military occupation of a foot soldier who originally played the fife during combat. The practice was instituted during the period of Early Modern warfare to sound signals during changes in formation, such as the line ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and took part in the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on a farm owned by John Green in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. A r ...

as a member of Captain Samuel Robinson's Company. His brother Joseph Fay also served in the Green Mountain Boys and took part in the Battle of Bennington, and later served as

Secretary of State of Vermont The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repres ...

. His brother Jonas Fay was also a member of the Green Mountain Boys, and served in several government positions during Vermont's early years, including Justice of the

Career

Fay was a farmer and surveyor. He later studied law, and attained admission to the bar in 1794. A

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

, he served as

Bennington County Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipal ...

State's attorney from 1795 to 1798,and again from 1800 to 1801. and was a member of the state Council of Censors in 1799 and 1806. From 1801 to 1809 Fay served as United States Attorney for Vermont. In 1809 Fay was appointed to the

, and he served until 1813. From 1817 to 1821 he was a member of the Vermont Governor's Council, and he served as Bennington County's Judge of Probate from 1819 to 1820.

Military service

Following the Revolution, Fay continued his service in the militia. He attained the rank of major in the early 1790s and was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

by the late 1790s. In 1795 he was appointed Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia with the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. He held this position until 1822. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Fay coordinated the activities of the Vermont Militia, including units dispatched to provide security on the Vermont-Canada border and units which took part in the defense of Plattsburgh.

Death and burial

Fay died in Bennington on June 5, 1827 and was buried in the Old Bennington Cemetery.Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, David 1761 births 1827 deaths People from Bennington, Vermont Vermont militiamen in the American Revolution American militiamen in the War of 1812 American militia generals Vermont Democratic-Republicans Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont state court judges Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court United States Attorneys for the District of Vermont People from Hardwick, Massachusetts Farmers from Vermont American surveyors Burials in Vermont 19th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Massachusetts