Phineas White (October 30, 1770July 6, 1847) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as

United States 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 ...

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 ...

Biography

White was born in

South Hadley South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...

in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

to Deacon Enoch White and Esther Stevens. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

in 1797. He studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

with Charles Marsh of

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Chart ...

and Judge Samuel Porter of

Dummerston, Vermont Dummerston is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three main villages: Dum ...

. He was

admitted 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 1800 and commenced practice in

Pomfret Pomfrets are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of ...

. White married Elizabeth Stevens on July 5, 1801. He was Register of Probate for Windsor County from 1800 to 1809,

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

from 1802 to 1809 and

county 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 ...

in 1813. White served as judge of Windham County in 1814, 1815 and 1817, and was chief judge from 1818 to 1820. White was

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

of the

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

district from 1814 to 1815. White was a member of the state constitutional convention in 1814 and served 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 ...

from 1815 to 1820. He was elected 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 ...

to the Seventeenth Congress, and served from March 4, 1821 to March 3, 1823. White was again a member of the state constitutional convention in 1836 and also served in 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 1836 and 1837. White served as a trustee of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

, President of the Vermont Bible Society, and President of the Vermont Colonization Society. He belonged to the Masonic Order and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Vermont.

Death

White died on July 6, 1847, in

Putney, Vermont Putney is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,617 at the 2020 census. The town's historic core makes up the Putney Village Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Histo ...

and was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery.''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''
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References

External links

govtrack.us
*
Digital Collections at Middlebury

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Phineas 1770 births 1847 deaths Dartmouth College alumni Vermont lawyers People from South Hadley, Massachusetts People from Pomfret, Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state senators Vermont state court judges Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Burials in Vermont 19th-century American lawyers