Paul Brigham (January 1746June 15, 1824) was an American Revolutionary soldier and

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 ...

politician. He was the second

lieutenant governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

after that state was

admitted to the Union ''Admitted'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language docudrama film directed by Chandigarh-based director Ojaswwee Sharma. The film is about Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transgender student at Panjab University. The role of Dhananjay Chauhan has been p ...

in 1791, and upon the death of Vermont's first governor

Thomas Chittenden Thomas Chittenden (January 6, 1730August 25, 1797) was an American politician from Vermont, who was a leader of the territory for nearly two decades. Chittenden was the first and third governor of the state of Vermont, serving from 1778 to 1789 ...

, served as governor for the last seven weeks of Chittenden's term. (During the 14 years before admission to the Union, when Vermont was a largely unrecognized state, several others served as lieutenant governor and two persons served as governor.)

Biography

Brigham, son of Paul and Catherine (Turner) Brigham, was born in January 1746, in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

in the

Colony of Connecticut 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 ...

. The exact date of his birth varies from source to source. Some give his birthday as January 6; others give it as January 17. He married Lydia Sawyer (of

Hebron, Connecticut Hebron is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2020 census. Hebron was incorporated May 26, 1708. In 2010, Hebron was rated #6 in Top Towns in Connecticut with population between 6,500 and 10,000, ...

) on October 3, 1767, and the couple had five children.

Career

Brigham served from January 1, 1777 to April 22, 1781 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 ...

in the

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He was a

company commander A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 250 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons. The exact organization of a company varies by country, ...

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troops under the command of General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and wintered in Valley Forge during the winter of 1777. In the spring of 1782 Brigham and his family moved to

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, in the U.S. state of Vermont. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshir ...

, where he was a farmer and a land speculator. He served as high sheriff of

Windsor County, Vermont Windsor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,753. The shire town (county seat) is the town of Woodstock. The county's largest municipality is the town of Hartford. History Wind ...

, for five years and as

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the Vermont Militia. He was chief judge of the county court for five years, and was a presidential elector for Vermont in 1792. He was on the Governor's Council from 1793 to 1796. Brigham was annually elected

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Vermont for 16 consecutive years, from 1796 to 1813; only the brief

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resurgence removed Brigham and other Republicans from office. After conclusion to 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 ...

, which gave life to the moribund Federalist Party all across New England for their opposition, Brigham was again lieutenant governor, this time from 1815 until 1820. Upon the death of Governor

, he served for a short time as the second Governor of Vermont from August 25 to October 16, 1797, when the new governor,

Isaac Tichenor Isaac Tichenor (February 8, 1754December 11, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the third and fifth governor of Vermont and United States Senator from Vermont. Biography Tichenor was born in Newark in the Province of ...

was sworn in. Brigham then resumed his duties as lieutenant governor. He retired and returned to his home in Norwich in 1820.

Death and legacy

Brigham died in Norwich on June 16, 1824. He was interred at Fairview Cemetery in his hometown of Norwich. The journal of his army experiences was published as ''A Revolutionary Diary of Captain Paul Brigham, November 19, 1777 – September 4, 1778.'' The obituary from the New-Hampshire Patriot (NH), July 12, 1824, p. 3, reads:

References

External links

Information from the Vermont Archives
*A History of Norwich Vermont by M. E. Goddard & H. V. Partridge *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigham, Paul 1746 births 1824 deaths People from Coventry, Connecticut Vermont Democratic-Republicans Governors of Vermont Lieutenant Governors of Vermont People from Norwich, Vermont Vermont militiamen in the American Revolution Vermont state court judges People of pre-statehood Vermont Vermont sheriffs Burials in Vermont Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States People of colonial Connecticut People of Vermont in the American Revolution