Abel Spencer (December 4, 1758 – June 16, 1832) was a

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 ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as

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: ** I ...

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 ...

twice and was expelled from the House for theft.

Biography

Abel Spencer was born in

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan st ...

on December 4, 1758. His family subsequently relocated to

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 ...

. 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 Revolut ...

he served in the Vermont Militia, but changed sides at the approach of John Burgoyne's army in the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

of 1777. (His father Benjamin, who served in the Vermont legislature and in other offices also sided with the British and relocated to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

.) Abel Spencer subsequently recanted his support of the British and was allowed to return to Clarendon after being assessed a fine of 1,000 pounds. In 1779 the legislature remitted half the fine. Spencer subsequently studied law and attained admission to the bar. He represented Clarendon in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1791 to 1793 and 1796 to 1798. After relocating to

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

Spencer represented his new hometown in the House from 1802 to 1803 and 1806 to 1807. He served as Speaker of the House from 1797 to 1798 and 1802 to 1803. Spencer also served on the Vermont Governor's Council from 1798 to 1801 and was

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. H ...

State's 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 ...

from 1796 to 1803. In 1798 Spencer ran unsuccessfully 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 ...

, and in 1802 he was the unsuccessful

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 ...

nominee for 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 ...

, losing to

Israel Smith Israel Smith (April 4, 1759 – December 2, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician. He held a wide variety of positions in the state of Vermont, including as a member of the United States House of Representatives, a member of the United Sta ...

in the legislature's balloting by a vote of 111 to 85. In 1807 Spencer was accused of the theft of ninety-three dollars in bank bills, the property of three other House members. He was expelled from the House in a unanimous vote. After leaving the House Spencer relocated to Saint Armand, Quebec, Canada, where he died on June 16, 1832. He was buried Iberville's Episcopal Church Cemetery.Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967, death record for Abel Spencer, accessed via Ancestry.com, June 21, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Abel 1758 births 1832 deaths People from East Greenwich, Rhode Island People from Clarendon, Vermont People from Saint-Armand, Quebec Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont Federalists Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Speakers of the Vermont House of Representatives People of Vermont in the American Revolution 19th-century American lawyers