John C. Thompson (1790–June 27, 1831) was a Vermont lawyer, politician, and judge who 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 1830 until his death.

Biography

John C. Thompson was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, probably in 1790. He studied law with an attorney in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and attained admission to the bar. He moved to Windsor, Vermont in 1813, where he established himself as an attorney and also became active in politics as 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 ...

, including serving as editor of the ''Vermont Republican'' newspaper. He practiced law in Windsor until 1818, when he moved to Hartland. Thompson moved to

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 ...

in 1822. In 1827, Thompson was elected to the Vermont Executive Council, and he served until 1830. In 1830, Chief Justice

Samuel Prentiss Samuel Prentiss (March 31, 1782January 15, 1857) was an associate justice and chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, a United States senator from Vermont and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Distric ...

of the

resigned because he had been elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, and Associate Justice

Titus Hutchinson Titus Hutchinson (born April 29, 1771, Grafton, Massachusetts; died August 24, 1857, Woodstock, Vermont) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge in the state of Vermont. He served on the Vermont Supreme Court from 1825 to 1833 and as Chief ...

was elevated to chief justice. Thompson was appointed to succeed Hutchinson as an Associate Justice, and he served until his death. Thompson was traveling from Burlington to Montpelier in June 1831 when he was suddenly taken ill. He returned to Burlington, where he died on June 27. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Burlington, and was succeeded on the court by

Samuel S. Phelps Samuel Shethar Phelps (May 13, 1793March 25, 1855) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a United States senator from Vermont, and a member of the Whig Party. Biography Phelps was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, to John Phelps (1756� ...

Family

In 1816, Thompson married Nancy Patrick (1796-1865) of Windsor. They were the parents of Sophia Patrick Thompson (1826-1833), and Charles Henry Thompson (1830-1846). Charles died when he drowned after a sailing accident on

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

. In her later years, Nancy Patrick Thompson resided in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

with her sister Sophia and brother-in-law

Gardner Stow Gardner Stow (August 1789 – June 25, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who served as New York State Attorney General. Early life He was in Orange, Franklin County, Massachusetts, the son of Timothy Stow and Mary (Kendall) Stow. The f ...

. According to a November 1847 newspaper article, another daughter of John C. Thompson and Nancy Patrick, also named Nancy, married John D. Duggan in Troy in a ceremony performed by Reverend John H. Hopkins of Burlington. This article also indicated that at the time of the wedding, Duggan was a resident of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

References

Sources

Books

* * *

Magazines

Internet

* * * * * *

Newspapers

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, John C. 1790 births 1831 deaths People from Westerly, Rhode Island People from Windsor, Vermont People from Hartland, Vermont People from Burlington, Vermont U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Vermont lawyers Vermont Democratic-Republicans Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Burials in Vermont 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers