Homer Elihu Royce (June 14, 1819 – April 24, 1891) was an American lawyer, politician and jurist.

Early life

Royce was born in

Berkshire, Vermont Berkshire is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,547 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated village of East Berkshire. Geography Berkshire is located in northeastern Franklin County. Its northern b ...

, the son of Elihu Marvin and Sophronia (Parker) Royce. His uncle

Stephen Royce Stephen Royce (August 12, 1787November 11, 1868) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. Originally a Democratic-Republican, and later a Whig Party, he became a Republican when the party was formed in the mid-1850s. Royce served as an ass ...

who served as Vermont Chief Justice and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Homer Royce was educated in the district schools and at academies in St. Albans and Enosburgh. He studied law with Thomas Child, was admitted to the bar in 1844, and partnered with

Thomas Child, Jr. Thomas Child (March 18, 1818 – March 9, 1869) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Life Born in Bakersfield, Vermont, he was the son of attorney Timothy Child (1779-1862) and Lydia Adams Child (1780-1853). Child attended the common schoo ...

for several years in his hometown. 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 ...

awarded him 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 ...

s of

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 ...

in 1851, and Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1882. He married, January 23, 1851, Mary T. Edmunds, of Boston, Massachusetts, with whom he had three children.

Politics

He was state's attorney for Franklin County in 1846 and 1847, and represented Berkshire 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 ...

the latter year as well. He was a district delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1847. In 1849, 1850, 1851, 1861 and 1868, he was elected to 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 ...

from Franklin County. In 1856 he was elected by a majority of 5,960 votes as a

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

representative to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

from the Third district, becoming the youngest member of the Vermont contingent in Washington. He served two terms, from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1861. During his first term he was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He won a second term by a majority of 4,129 votes. During his second term, he wrote a part of the Foreign Affairs Committee report opposing annexation of Cuba, and delivered a speech in opposition to President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

's Cuban policy. Senator

Jacob Collamer Jacob Collamer (January 8, 1791 – November 9, 1865) was an American politician from Vermont. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Postmaster General in the cabinet of President Zachary Taylor, and as a U.S. Senator. Born in Tr ...

spoke out against the acquisition as well. Royce did not run for a third term. He returned to his law practice until he was elected as an associate justice in 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 ...

in 1870, succeeding William C. Wilson. He was appointed chief justice in 1882, succeeding

John Pierpoint John Pierpoint (January 10, 1805 – January 7, 1882) was a Vermont attorney and judge. He served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1857 until his death, and was Chief Justice beginning in 1865. Biography John Pierpoint (sometimes s ...

, and John W. Rowell was appointed to the resulting associate justice vacancy. Royce served as chief justice until 1890, when he resigned. Royce died in

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

, and is interred in Calvary Cemetery, East Berkshire.

References

Sources

* * Crockett, Walter Hill.
Vermont The Green Mountain State
', The Century History Company, Inc., New York, 1921, iii:366, 450, 453-454, 462, 467, 470. * Dodge, Prentiss C.,
Encyclopedia Vermont Biography
', Burlington, VT: Ullery Publishing Company, 1912, p. 74. * Ullery, Jacob G., compiler,
Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont
', Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, Part I, p. 155-156, 183-184.
Homer E. Royce
at ''Vermont in the Civil War''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royce, Homer E. 1819 births 1891 deaths People from Berkshire, Vermont Vermont Whigs Chief Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges