Samuel Chandler Crafts (October 6, 1768November 19, 1853) was a

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 ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the 12th

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

Early life

Born in

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

in the Colony of Connecticut, Crafts graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1790 and moved to Vermont with his parents Mehitible Chandler (sister of the painter Winthrop Chandler), and Ebenezer Crafts, who founded the town of Craftsbury by settling there in 1791. He married Eunice Todd Beardsley and the couple had two children.

Career

Crafts was

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

from 1799 to 1829 and was a delegate to 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 ...

al convention in 1793 where he was the youngest member. He 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 1796, 1800–1803, and 1805, and was clerk of the house in 1798–1799. He was register of

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the st ...

from 1796 to 1815 and was assistant judge of the Orleans County Court from 1800 to 1810 and 1825 to 1828. Crafts made an extensive

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

reconnaissance of the

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

in 1802. He was a member of the State Council of Censors from 1809 to 1813. This Council consisted of twelve men and shared executive power with the Governor. He was Chief Judge of the Orleans County Court from 1810 to 1816. Crafts was elected to the Fifteenth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1817 to March 3, 1825. He again served as a member of the governor's council in 1825 and 1826. Crafts was

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

from 1828 to 1831. When he was a member of the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, 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 (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

constitutional convention of 1829, he served as its president. Crafts was clerk of Orleans County from 1836 to 1839. In 1842 he was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of

Samuel Prentiss Samuel Prentiss (March 31, 1782January 15, 1857) was an associate justice and chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, a United States senator from Vermont and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Dist ...

. On October 26, 1842 he was elected to complete the remainder of Prentiss's term. Crafts served in the Senate from April 23, 1842 to March 3, 1843. He was not a candidate for a full term, and was succeeded by William Upham.

Death

Samuel Crafts retired to his farm in Craftsbury where he died in 1853. He is interred at North Craftsbury Cemetery, North Craftsbury.

References

External links

*
National Governors Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crafts, Samuel C. 1768 births 1853 deaths People from Woodstock, Connecticut Vermont Whigs 19th-century American politicians Governors of Vermont United States senators from Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state court judges Leicester Academy alumni Harvard College alumni Vermont National Republicans Whig Party United States senators People from Craftsbury, Vermont Burials in Vermont Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont National Republican Party state governors of the United States