Simeon Olcott (October 1, 1735February 22, 1815) was a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

attorney and politician. His career began before the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and continued afterwards, and among the positions in which he served were Chief Judge of the

New Hampshire Supreme Court The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U. S. state of New Hampshire and sole appellate court of the state. The Supreme Court is seated in the state capital, Concord. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate ...

(1795-1801) and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

(1801-1805). A native of

Bolton, Connecticut Bolton ( ) is a small suburban town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. It is primarily residential with an economy made up mostly of small businesses. The high school typically has between fifty and one hundred students per grade. The p ...

, Olcott graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1761, studied law, attained admission to the bar, and began to practice in

Charlestown, New Hampshire Charlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,806 at the 2020 census, down from 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation A ...

. He quickly became active in politics and government, and served as a town selectman, town meeting moderator, and member of the colonial legislature. He served as Cheshire County Probate Judge during the American Revolution, and when several western New Hampshire towns attempted to join Vermont after the war, Olcott served as an associate 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 ...

. The attempted union was soon dissolved, and Olcott served on New Hampshire's Court of Common Pleas (1784-1790), as a judge of the Superior Court (later renamed the state Supreme Court) (1790-1795), and chief judge of the Superior Court (1795-1801). In 1801, Olcott was selected to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy created after Samuel Livermore resigned, and he served from 1801 to 1805. Olcott died in Charlestown in 1815 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown.

Early life

Olcott was born in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, and was a son of Timothy Olcott and Eunice (White) Olcott. He graduated from

in 1761, studied law, 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 ...

and commenced practice in

Start of career

Olcott served in several local offices, including selectman (1769-1770, 1771) and member of the provincial legislature (1771-1774). In 1770 and 1772, Olcott was elected as Charlestown's town meeting moderator. In 1773, Olcott was appointed judge of probate for Cheshire County, and he served throughout the

. In 1781, several western New Hampshire towns voted to leave New Hampshire and join Vermont. Several residents of these towns were appointed or elected to Vermont offices, including Olcott, who was chosen as an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the

. The union between New Hampshire's Connecticut River towns and Vermont was soon nullified, and Olcott resigned as an associate justice in 1782.

Later career

In 1784, Olcott was appointed chief justice of the New Hampshire Court of Common Pleas. He held this position until 1790, when he was appointed a judge of the New Hampshire Superior Court (later renamed the

. He served until 1795, when he was appointed

chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

, and he held this position until 1801. When the country's first political parties were created, Olcott became identified with the

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

. Samuel Livermore resigned his seat in 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 ...

in 1801. The

New Hampshire General Court The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 membe ...

chose Olcott to fill the vacancy, and he served from June 17, 1801 to March 3, 1805.

Death and burial

Olcott retired at the completion of his U.S. Senate term and continued to reside in Charlestown. He died in Charlestown on February 22, 1815. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown.

Family

In 1783, Olcott married Tryphena Terry of

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longm ...

. They were the parents of three children, a son George who died in infancy, a second son named George (1785-1764), who was the longtime cashier of the Connecticut River Bank, and Henry, a career officer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who died in 1821.

References

Sources

Books

* * * * *

Internet

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olcott, Simeon 1735 births 1815 deaths People from Bolton, Connecticut New Hampshire state court judges United States senators from New Hampshire Chief Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Yale College alumni New Hampshire Federalists Federalist Party United States senators People from Charlestown, New Hampshire