Lemuel Chipman (July 25, 1754 – April 28, 1831) was an American politician, judge, and physician. Chipman held political office in both the

Republic of Vermont The Vermont Republic ( French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont ( French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The ...

, the subsequent state of

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 ...

, and the state of New York. He served as a judge in both the states of Vermont and New York.

Personal life

Chipman was born in

Salisbury, Connecticut Salisbury () is a town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut tri-state marker is located at the northwest corner of the town ...

on July 25, 1754 . When he was nineteen, he and his family moved to Tinmouth, Vermont. He was the brother of noted Vermont politicians

Nathaniel Chipman Nathaniel Chipman (November 15, 1752February 13, 1843) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Vermont and Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. A Yale College graduate and Continental Army veteran of the ...

and

Daniel Chipman Daniel Chipman (October 22, 1765April 23, 1850) was an American politician. He served as a United States representative from Vermont. Biography Chipman was born in Salisbury in the Connecticut Colony to Samuel and Hannah Austin Chipman. He gradu ...

. In adulthood, Chipman resided first in

Pawlet, Vermont Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 at the 2020 census. History Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was g ...

(within

Rutland County Rutland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,572, making it the second-most populous county in Vermont. Its county seat and most populous municipality is the city of Rutland. H ...

) and later moved in 1795 to Ontario County, New York. Chipman was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

Medical career and Revolutionary War service

Chipman became a physician and surgeon. Chipman served in 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 ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He acted as assistant surgeon to Doctor Dickinson at 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 ...

in 1777.

Government and political career

Vermont

Beginning on October 14, 1790, Chipman began serving the first of multiple consecutive terms a member of the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

, representing Pawlet. During his early tenure in the legislature, Chipman was a member of the State Convention of Vermont where the opted to support admittance as a state of the United States. During the 1793–1794 assembly, Chipman was chosen to serve as the body's clerk pro tempore. In late 1793, Chipman was appointed an associate judge of Rutland County. Chipman served as a judge of Rutland County for eight years. On October 11, 1792, a petition sent by

Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 – August 1, 1822) was an Irish-born American printer, farmer, soldier and politician, who served as a United States representative from both Vermont and Kentucky. Lyon represented Vermont in U. S. Congress, Congre ...

was received by Council of Censors calling for Judge Chipman to be impeached for maladministration. However, on October 13, 1792, the Council dismissed this petition, judging it to be a matter more appropriate for the General Assembly, finding it to be, "expedient that complaints of individual officers for offenses against the Constitution should be made in the first instance to the Gen'l Assembly." Chipman served as a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

from Vermont in

1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London. * February ...

. He voted for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. He had been appointed to be an elector by the General Assembly. He subsequently sought unsuccessfully to again be an elector from Vermont.

New York

In 1796 and 1797, Chipman was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

representing Ontario County. In 1800 and 1801, he was again a member of the New York State Assembly, this from a seat representing both Ontario County and Steuben County. From 1801 through 1805, Chipman served as a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

, representing the Western District. In 1802, Chipman was on the New York Council of Appointment. Chipman also served for several years as an Ontario County judge. In

1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in s ...

Chipman served as a presidential elector from New York in support of the

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 ...

ticket led by

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

Death

He died on April 28, 1831, in

Richmond, New York Richmond is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,380 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Abigail Richmond Pitts, an early settler. The town of Richmond is on the western border of the county, south of R ...

at the age of 76. He was buried at the West Avenue Cemetery in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chipman, Lemuel County judges in the United States People from Pawlet, Vermont Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators Physicians from Vermont Members of the Vermont General Assembly 1792 United States presidential electors People from Ontario County, New York Physicians from New York (state) 1816 United States presidential electors People from Salisbury, Connecticut