Enoch Woodbridge (December 25, 1750April 21, 1805) was a Vermont attorney, politician, and judge. A veteran of 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 Revolut ...

, he served as 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 ...

from 1794 to 1800, and chief justice from 1798 to 1800.

Biography

Enoch Woodbridge was born in

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is h ...

on December 25, 1750. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1774, and joined the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

cause for the

. Initially assigned to militia forces that took part in the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...

, he subsequently served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

regiment commanded by John Paterson. Woodbridge was wounded at the

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 28, 1776 near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward f ...

, and settled in

Pownal, Vermont Pownal is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town population was 3,258. The town of Pownal includes the villages of Pownal (CDP), ...

, where he was first appointed quartermaster of Warner’s Additional Regiment, and later as a commissary of issues, contracted to provide supplies and equipment for the

. He took part in the battles of Hubbardton,

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

, and Saratoga, and served until 1780. Following his military service, Woodbridge studied law, attained admission to the bar, and began to practice in Pownal. He subsequently relocated to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and then Vergennes, where he became a permanent resident. While residing in Manchester, Woodbridge served in local offices including lister and town meeting moderator, in addition to terms as

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 ...

for

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 ...

, and Judge of Probate for the county's Manchester District. After moving to Vergennes, Woodbridge served in 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 ...

in 1791 and 1793, and was a delegate to Vermont's 1793 constitutional convention. When Vergennes was incorporated as a city in 1794, Woodbridge was elected mayor, and served a one-year term. In 1794, he was appointed to the

; he served until 1800, and was the court's Chief Justice from 1798 to 1800. Woodbridge resumed practicing law in Vergennes after his retirement from the bench, and served again in the Vermont House in 1802. He died in Vergennes on April 21, 1805, and was buried at Vergennes Burying Ground.

Family

Woodbridge was the son of Judge

Timothy Woodbridge Timothy Woodbridge (February 27, 1709 – May 10, 1774)Mitchell, p. 32. was an American missionary, deacon and schoolteacher, later a judge, representative, and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, from Springfield, Massachusetts, who spent most of ...

(1709-1774) of

and Abigail (Day) Woodbridge; his father died several months before Woodbridge's birth. His uncles John (1702-1783) and Benjamin Woodbridge (1712-1785) were both prominent

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

clergymen. Woodbridge was also a direct descendant of Governor

Thomas Dudley Thomas Dudley (12 October 157631 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the tow ...

and Reverend

John Woodbridge John Woodbridge VI (1613–1696) was an English nonconformist, who emigrated to New England. He had positions on both sides of the Atlantic, until 1663, when he settled permanently in New England. Life John Woodbridge VI was born at Stanton, nea ...

, and was the great-grandson of Reverend John Eliot. In 1774, Woodbridge married Nancy Winchell of

North East, New York North East is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 3,031 at the 2020 census. The town is in the northeastern corner of the county. U.S. Route 44 crosses the town. History The town of North East takes its name fr ...

. They were the parents of eight children. Nancy Woodbridge died in 1800, and in 1802 Woodbridge married Sabrina Hopkins, who died in 1807. One of Woodbridge's sons was Enoch Day Woodbridge, who married Cora Strong, the daughter of General John Strong. Enoch D. and Cora Woodbridge were the parents of

Frederick E. Woodbridge Frederick Enoch Woodbridge (August 29, 1818 – April 25, 1888) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Vermont. He served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Woodbridge was b ...

, a member of Congress from Vermont.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodbridge, Enoch 1750 births 1805 deaths People from Stockbridge, Massachusetts Yale University alumni Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state court judges Mayors of places in Vermont Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Burials in Vermont U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law