Paul Dillingham Jr. (August 10, 1799 – July 26, 1891) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as a

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 ...

, the 24th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1862 to 1865, and the 29th governor of Vermont from 1865 to 1867.

Early life

Dillingham was born in

Shutesbury, Massachusetts Shutesbury is a New England town, town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,717 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfie ...

, on August 10, 1799, a son of Paul Dillingham Sr. and Hannah (Smith) Dillingham. The Dillingham family moved to Waterbury, Vermont in 1805, where Dillingham worked on the family farm and attended the district school in Waterbury and Montpelier's Washington County Grammar School. In 1820, he commenced studying law in the office of Judge Daniel Carpenter. He was admitted to the bar in March 1823, and in April he began to practice in Waterbury as Carpenter's partner. He gained a reputation throughout Vermont as a skilled trial lawyer with a superior ability to present oral arguments to judges and juries.

Early career

Entering politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Dillingham served as a Waterbury

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

from 1826 to 1844, and town clerk from 1829 to 1844. He served as Waterbury's member of 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 ...

from 1833 to 1835, 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 ...

of Washington County from 1835 to 1839, and again as Waterbury's member of the Vermont House from 1837 to 1840. Dillingham served as a delegate to the State constitutional convention of 1836, and a member of the

Vermont State 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 1841 and 1842.

Congressman

Dillingham was elected as a to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1846. During Dillingham's House service, he served on the Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Claims. The only Democrat in Vermont's Congressional delegation, he favored the annexation of Texas and supported US involvement in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

. Dillingham was a delegate to the 1857 State constitutional convention. In 1861, Dillingham served again in the Vermont Senate.

Lieutenant governor

Increasingly opposed to slavery and secession, Dillingham declined the Democratic Party's 1860 nomination for governor. When the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

started, he officially changed his allegiance from Democratic to Republican. He served as the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

from 1862 to 1865. Holding office at the height of the war, Dillingham's efforts were focused on aiding governors

Frederick Holbrook Frederick Holbrook (February 15, 1813 – April 28, 1909) was an American farmer, businessman, and Governor of the State of Vermont. Active in politics and government, first as a Whig, and later as a Republican, he was most notable for his serv ...

and

J. Gregory Smith John Gregory Smith (July 22, 1818 – November 6, 1891) was a Vermont businessman and politician. He is most notable for serving as the 28th governor of Vermont from 1863 to 1865, the last of Vermont's American Civil War, Civil War chief execut ...

to obtain passage of laws for raising, paying, and equipping soldiers for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. In addition, he campaigned throughout Vermont for the Republican (Unionist) ticket of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

in the

1864 United States presidential election The 1864 United States presidential election was the 20th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easily ...

Governor

Dillingham served as the 29th governor of Vermont from 1865 to 1867. As governor, he created Vermont's first reform school and established Vermont's first

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

for teacher training (now Vermont Technical College). It also fell to Dillingham to appoint two members of the U.S. Senate to replace senators who had died. To succeed

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 ...

, Dillingham selected

Luke P. Poland Luke Potter Poland (November 1, 1815 – July 2, 1887) was a United States senator and Representative from Vermont. Biography Poland was born in Westford son of Luther and Nancy Potter Poland. He attended the common schools and Jericho Academy ...

. To replace

Solomon Foot Solomon Foot (November 19, 1802March 28, 1866) was an American politician and attorney. He held numerous offices during his career, including Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, State's Attorney for Rutland County, member of the Un ...

, Dillingham first offered the appointment to former governor

. When Smith declined, Dillingham selected

George F. Edmunds George Franklin Edmunds (February 1, 1828February 27, 1919) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Vermont. Before entering the U.S. Senate, he served in a number of high-profile positions, including Speaker of the Vermont House of Representative ...

Later life

He resumed the practice of law, and was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1870. He retired in 1875.

Death and burial

Dillingham died at his home in Waterbury on July 26, 1891. He is interred in the Village Cemetery in Waterbury.

Family

He married Sarah Partridge Carpenter, a daughter of Daniel Carpenter. She died on September 20, 1831, and on September 5, 1832, Dillingham married Sarah's sister Julia. He had seven children who lived to adulthood, including

William Paul Dillingham William Paul Dillingham (December 12, 1843July 12, 1923) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Vermont. A Republican and the son of Congressman and Governor Paul Dillingham, William P. Dillingham served as governor from 1888 ...

, who served as governor and U.S. Senator. Dillingham was also the father in law of Senator

Matthew H. Carpenter Matthew Hale Carpenter (born Decatur Merritt Hammond Carpenter; December 22, 1824 – February 24, 1881) was an American attorney and U.S. Senator representing the state of Wisconsin. He served in the Senate from 1869 to 1875 and again from 1879 ...

References

External links

Paul Dillingham
at The Political Graveyard
Paul Dillingham
at National Governors Association * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillingham, Paul 1799 births 1891 deaths Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state senators Vermont Republicans Lieutenant Governors of Vermont Governors of Vermont Vermont lawyers People from Waterbury, Vermont Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Republican Party governors of Vermont 19th-century American politicians People from Shutesbury, Massachusetts State's attorneys in Vermont 19th-century American lawyers