George M. Powers (December 19, 1861 – June 24, 1938) was a Vermont attorney, politician, and judge. He was most notable for his service as an associate 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 1904 to 1906, and again from 1909 to 1913, and chief justice from 1913 to 1915 and 1929 until his death.

Early life

George McClellan Powers was born in Hyde Park, Vermont on December 19, 1861, the son of H. Henry Powers and Caroline (Waterman) Powers. Henry Powers was a prominent attorney who served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. George Powers was raised in

Morrisville, Vermont Morrisville is a village in the town of Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 2,086. Morrisville has two country clubs, a hospital, a school featuring Greek architecture and an air ...

, and graduated from

Peoples Academy The Peoples Academy is a historic high school in Morrisville, Vermont. In 1996, the main school building, along with the observatory and bandshell located on the school grounds, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. All of the s ...

. He served as a messenger for the

Vermont 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 ...

in 1872 and 1874. Powers received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

in 1883. In 1886, he received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from UVM. Powers studied law with his father and

Philip K. Gleed Philip King Gleed (September 10, 1834 – June 29, 1897) was a Vermont Attorney at law (United States), attorney and politician who served as President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate, President of the Vermont State Senate. Biography Gle ...

, attained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1886, and began to practice in Morrisville.

Early 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 ...

, Powers was Assistant Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives during the sessions of 1884, 1886, and 1888. From 1888 to 1890 he served 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

Lamoille County Lamoille County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,945, and it is the third-least populous county in Vermont. Its shire town (county seat) is the town of Hyde Park, while Morristow ...

. He served as Secretary of the Vermont Senate in 1890, 1892, and 1894. From 1902 to 1904 he was the

Reporter of Decisions The Reporter of Decisions (sometimes known by other titles, such as Official Reporter or State Reporter) is the official responsible for publishing the decisions of a court. Traditionally, the decisions were published in books known as case repor ...

for the

Career as a judge

In 1904, Powers was appointed an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, replacing

Wendell Phillips Stafford Wendell Phillips Stafford (May 1, 1861 – April 21, 1953) was an American attorney and jurist. He was most notable for his service as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Distr ...

, who had resigned in order to accept an appointment as a federal judge. Powers served until 1906, when his position was eliminated after a newly enacted law reduced the size of the court. Powers served as a judge of the Vermont Superior Court from 1906 to 1909, when he was again appointed to the Supreme Court, and was succeeded on the Superior Court by Fred M. Butler. In 1909, he received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from the University of Vermont. In 1913, Powers was appointed to succeed John W. Rowell as Chief Justice, and he served until 1915, when he was replaced by Loveland Munson. Powers was re-appointed as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1915, and served until 1929, when he was again appointed Chief Justice following the death of John H. Watson. Powers served as chief justice until his death, and was succeeded by

Sherman R. Moulton Sherman R. Moulton (June 10, 1876 – June 16, 1949) was a Vermont attorney and judge. He is most notable for his service as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court (1926-1939) and as Chief Justice (1939-1949). Early life Sherman Robe ...

Death and burial

Powers died in Morrisville on June 24, 1938. He was buried at Pleasant View Cemetery in Morrisville.

Family

Powers was married to Gertrude Woodbury (1872–1962), the daughter of Governor

Urban A. Woodbury Urban Andrain Woodbury (July 11, 1838 – April 15, 1915) was an American Civil War veteran, an entrepreneur and a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as mayor of Burlington, 37th lieutenant governor, and as the 45th governor of V ...

. Their children included one son and two daughters; Horace Henry, Mildred Dorothy, and Elizabeth Lillian.

References

Sources

Newspapers

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Magazines

Books

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Internet

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, George M. 1861 births 1938 deaths People from Hyde Park, Vermont University of Vermont alumni Vermont lawyers Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives State's attorneys in Vermont Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Burials in Vermont