James Elliot (August 18, 1775November 10, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer, author and politician. A holder of local and state offices throughout his life, he was most notable for his service as 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 ...

from

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 ...

. Elliot was born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

. His father died at sea while serving in 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 Elliot's mother moved the family to New Salem, where he received his early education. He was indentured to a local farmer, and at age 15 moved to Guilford, Vermont to work as a store clerk. He served in the army during the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...

, then returned to Vermont to study law and begin practice as an attorney. He later published a volume on his wartime experiences, which also included several poems and essays. During the early 1800s, Elliot served as Clerk 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 ...

. Nominally a Federalist, in 1802 he won election to the U.S House, where he served for three terms and became identified with many Democratic-Republican principles. After leaving Congress, Elliot edited newspapers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Worcester, Massachusetts, then returned to Vermont to resume practicing law. He served briefly in 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 ...

, and continued to hold local and state offices, including Clerk of Windham County, member of the

, Windham County Register of Probate, and State's Attorney of Windham County. Elliot died in

Newfane, Vermont Newfane is the shire town (county seat) of Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,645 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Newfane, Williamsville, and South Newfane. History One of the New Hampshire gran ...

on November 10, 1839, and was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in

Brattleboro Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...

Early life

Elliot was born in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

on August 18, 1775, the son of James Elliot, a sailor, and Martha (Day) Elliot. His father died at sea of smallpox after enlisting to serve during the

, and his mother moved the family to New Salem, where she worked as a seamstress to support them. His mother provided his early education, including teaching him to read, and providing him works including the Bible and popular histories of colonial America and the early United States. As a boy, he was indentured to a farmer in Petersham, who supplemented Elliot's early education while he worked on the farm. Elliot later worked to improve his education through self-study, and worked in a variety of occupations including store clerk.

Start of career

He moved to Guilford, Vermont in 1790, where he clerked in a store and the circle of friends he developed included

Royall Tyler Royall Tyler (June 18, 1757 – August 26, 1826) was an American jurist and playwright. He was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in 1776, and then served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolution. He was ad ...

. In 1793, Elliot enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, joining Captain Cornelius Lyman's company of the 2nd United States Sub-Legion. He attained the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, and took part in the response to the

and the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He received his discharge in 1796, and returned to Vermont. In 1798, Elliot published a volume of essays and poems which included details of the observations he made during his military service. Elliot served as Clerk of the

from 1801 to 1803. He studied law in the office of a local attorney during the early 1800s, and began a campaign for Congress in 1802. He 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 ...

in 1803, and began to practice in

Congressman

He was elected to 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 ...

in 1802 and was reelected in 1804 and 1806, and served in the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, and 10th Congresses (March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1809). Though he had nominally been a

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 ...

, Elliot ran as a

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 ...

, identified with many Democratic-Republican principles, and was an admirer of several prominent members of the party, including

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

, George Clinton, and

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

Later career

Upon retiring from Congress, Elliot published the ''Freeman's Journal'', a Democratic-Republican newspaper in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He then briefly edited the ''

Worcester Spy The ''Worcester Spy'', originally known as the ''Massachusetts Spy'' was a newspaper founded in 1770 in Boston, Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas, dedicated to supporting the Revolutionary cause against the British. In the 19th century, it became a ...

'', a Federalist newspaper in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. By 1812 he was residing and practicing law in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, and during the

he was commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Artillery to raise troops in Vermont for the United States Army. He later returned to Brattleboro and he served as Clerk of the Windham County Court from 1817 to 1835. After the Federalist Party ceased to function, Elliot became a member of the Democratic-Republican Party and by the early 1830s he was identified with the

National Republican Party The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

. From 1818 to 1819 Elliot served in the

. From 1822 to 1823 he served as

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 ...

for Windham County. He was Windham County's Register of Probate from 1822 to 1834, and served again in the Vermont House from 1837 to 1838. From 1837 until his death Elliot served again as Windham County State's Attorney.

Death

Elliot died in

on November 10, 1839. He was interred at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro.

Family

In 1803, Elliot married Lucy Dow (1781–1869) of

Haverhill, New Hampshire Haverhill is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,585 at the 2020 census. Haverhill includes the villages of Woodsville, Pike, and North Haverhill, the historic town center at Haverhill Corner, and the dis ...

. They were the parents of three children, including son James Madison Elliot (1805–1807). Their daughter Mary Annette (1812–1896) was the wife of Wright Pomroy of

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

. Samuel Elliot (1777–1845), the brother of James Elliot, also settled in Vermont, where he became a prominent attorney and held offices including judge of the probate court.

Published works

References

Sources

Books

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Newspapers

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Additional reading

External links

*
James Elliot
at The Political Graveyard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, James 1775 births 1839 deaths People of the Whiskey Rebellion American people of the Northwest Indian War United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 People from Brattleboro, Vermont Vermont Federalists Vermont National Republicans Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Burials in Vermont United States Army officers 19th-century American lawyers