Robert Bull Bates (1789 – October 7, 1841) was an American lawyer and politician in the U.S. 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 ...

. He served as the 29th and 31st

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

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 ...

Early life

Bates was born in Salisbury, Connecticut in 1789 and was raised in

Richmond, Massachusetts Richmond is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census. History Present day Richmond was first settled by Micah ...

. He studied law in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and settled in

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History One of ...

in 1813, where he practiced law in partnership with

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 ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Bates was one of two aides de camp for the commander of the Vermont Militia's 3rd Division. Active in the Episcopal Church, Bates was a delegate to the Vermont diocese's annual convention in 1826.

Political career

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 ...

, Bates served in several local offices, including

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 ...

. He represented Middlebury in the Vermont House of Representatives on several occasions, and was Speaker of the State House from 1826 to 1829 and from 1830 to 1831. In 1831 Bates was an unsuccessful candidate for the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, losing to William Slade. Bates later moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, and then to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he practiced law until his death on October 7, 1841.Death notice, Robert B. Bates
1836-1844 Death Notices of The Vermont Watchman & State Journal Newspaper, Reprinted on Vermont Northeast Kingdom Genealogy web site, accessed February 20, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Robert B. 1789 births 1841 deaths People from Salisbury, Connecticut People from Richmond, Massachusetts People from Middlebury, Vermont Vermont lawyers Vermont Democratic-Republicans Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives American militiamen in the War of 1812 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American lawyers