Theophilus Harrington (also spelled Herrington or Herrinton) (March 27, 1762 – November 17, 1813) served as a 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 Cou ...

and

Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives The Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives is the Speaker or presiding officer of the Vermont House of Representatives, the lower house of the Vermont Legislature. The Speaker presides over sessions of the Houses, recognizes members so ...

Early life

Harrington was born in

Coventry, Rhode Island Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,688 at the 2020 census and is part of the . Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it ...

on March 27, 1762. He served in both the

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Militia and

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 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 Revoluti ...

. He moved to

Shaftsbury, Vermont Shaftsbury is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,598 at the 2020 census. History The town was chartered on August 20, 1761. It was named after the Earl of Shaftesbury. In June 1843, escaped slaves hid at ...

with his family in 1778. In 1788 he settled in

Clarendon, Vermont Clarendon is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,412 at the 2020 census. Clarendon spans U.S. Route 7 and is split by the highway, the Cold River and Mill River, Otter Creek, and the Green Mountains into the ...

, where he was a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and land speculator.

Political career

After moving to Clarendon, Harrington became active in politics and government, serving in local offices including Selectman. He joined the

Democratic-Republican Party 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 earl ...

, and was a 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 are ...

in 1795 and from 1797 to 1804. He was Speaker in his final term.

Judicial career

In October, 1800 Harrington became

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the

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 ...

Court, where he served until 1803. He served on the bench at a time when many judges were not lawyers. This circumstance resulted from distrust of attorneys in the post-Revolutionary War era, when most individuals with legal education had supported New York during its dispute with Vermont's original white settlers over the validity of their land titles. In 1802 Harrington was admitted to the bar. In October, 1803 Harrington was chosen as one of the Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court, where he served until 1813.

Slave ownership case

Harrington is best known for a ruling he is supposed to have issued in the case of a runaway slave from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In June 1804, the slave's owner sought to reclaim him. Harrington demanded proof that the claimant did indeed own the slave. The owner produced bills of sale for both the slave and the slave's mother. Judge Harrington said that the documents of

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

did not go far enough back in time. When the owner asked what proof of ownership the judge would accept, Judge Harrington replied, "Nothing short of a bill of sale signed by God Almighty Himself." Justices Royall Tyler and Jonathan Robinson concurred, and the slave was set free. Their actions were considered by

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

s as an expression of the

Vermont Constitution The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon th ...

's prohibition against

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The supposed quote from Harrington was engraved on a plaque which was installed in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

by British abolitionists. Court decisions from that period were not recorded, so there is no way to ascertain the validity of the quote with certainty. The first evidence of it can be traced back to Benjamin Shaw's 1846 lecture "''Illegality of Slavery''."

Death and burial

Harrington and the other Judges on the Supreme Court were replaced when

Federalist 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 ...

s came to power in 1813. Theophilus Harrington died in Clarendon on November 17, 1813. He was buried at Chippenhook Cemetery in Clarendon (also known as West Clarendon Cemetery). In 1886 the State of Vermont had a monument to Harrington installed at Chippenhook Cemetery.The American Missionary magazine
Monument to Judge Harrington
Volume 40, 1886, page 212

References

External links

*

a
''Political Graveyard''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Theophilus 1762 births 1813 deaths People from Coventry, Rhode Island Rhode Island militiamen in the American Revolution American abolitionists American jurists People from Clarendon, Vermont Vermont Democratic-Republicans Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives People of Vermont in the American Revolution People of pre-statehood Vermont Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Vermont state court judges Vermont lawyers 19th-century American lawyers