USA > Vermont > Rutland County > The history of Rutland county, Vermont; civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military, pt 2 > Part 61
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Of his service in the army little is known except that he maintained a high standing for an officer of his rank. We know, from the dates of his letters rather than from any descriptions or complaints in them, that he endured the horrors of Valley Forge in the winter of 1778, when, to use the language of Washington, ' the pay of the officers was in-
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sufficient for their decent subsistence,' and the United States Senate, the highest legis- the army was 'naked and starving.' He also lative body in the world, fully equalling the British House of Lordsin talent, and surpass- ing even that body in the scope and dignity of its jurisdiction. endured all " the pressing alarms and dangers of the campaign of 1777." One of Chipman's letters indicates that he was in the battle of Monmouth, in which Washington defeated Sir Henry Clinton. The dates of his publish- ed letters at this time show also that he was under the eye of Washington, and we may safely conjecture that there and then he re- ceived the inspiration which determined his future political life to the end. October 10, 1778, he reluctantly tendered his resignation to Washington, on the sole ground that he could not remain in the service without be- coming either a beggar, or a debtor to an amount that would embarrass and perhaps ruin him for life. This resignation was ac- From this point a brief summary of his professional and official life, in chronological order, constitutes my task. cepted, as many had been for the same rea- sons nine months earlier. Chipman's patriot- ism and patience carried him to the very verge of ruin, and Washington excused him from further sufferings and sacrifices. That is a good plea in bar to censure from any source.
March 20, 1779 - being less than five months from the date of the letter resigning his lieutenancy-Chipman had completed his course of study for the bar, and was admit- ted an attorney in the courts of Connecticut. On that day he wrote a letter conceived in pure fun, which proved, however, to be emi- nently prophetic. "I have been dubbed an attorney," he wrote to a brother student, " and propose in a few days to take up my *
abode in the State of Vermont. *
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* Ha, ha, ha; I cannot but laugh to think what a flash we shall make, when we come to be members of Congress. And then again I am vexed when I think how many steps there are by which we must mount to that pinnacle of happiness. Let's see. First an attorney ; then, a selectman ; a huffing jus- tice ; a deputy ; an assistant, [Councillor in Vermont, or representative in the court or assembly in Connecticut ;] a member of Con- gress. Now, is not this a little vexing? However, we must make the best of it." And he did make the best of it, gaining near- ly every one of the offices which then daz- zled his imagination. The " huffing justice', became Judge of the United States court for Vermont, and Chief Judge of the highest State court; and the prophetic member of Congress proved to be an honored member of
On the 10th of April, 1779-less than a month after his admission to the bar of Con- necticut-the unfledged lawyer reached his father's house in Tinmouth ; here he entered upon the practice of the law ; here he mar- ried Sarah Hill of Tinmouth, and reared seven children ; here he resided for the most part of his life; and here he died, Feb. 15, 1843, in his 91st year, being the oldest Ver- mont lawyer, and having been blessed, near- ly all his life, with a vigorous constitution and almost uninterrupted health.
June, 1779, he was admitted to the bar of Vermont, at the session of the Superior Court in Rutland, which was then in Ben- nington county. His was the third admis- sion to the bar, and his professional circuit embraced what are now the counties of Ben- nington, Rutland, Windham, and Windsors
From 1781 to 1785 he served as State's Attorney.
March 6th, 1784, he was appointed a com- mittee, with Micah Townshend, to revise the statutes of the State; and in October of the same year, Isaac Tichnor, Samuel Knight and Stephen R. Bradley-all eminent men in their day-were added to the committee. It is evident from the legislative journal that the task assigned to this committee was the preparation of a complete State code, and as near as I can ascertain, their labors resulted in the code adopted in February and March, 1787. Chipman's appointment to this work, and the part done by him in it, was doubtless highly influential in fitting him for the bench, and raising him to it. In his brief study of the law he could have done little more than master the leading principles of the common law; his own library, I venture to guess, numbered Blackstone's Commentaries, the Civil Code of Justinian, the Vermont Code of 1779, and possibly the Connecticut Stat- utes, as its chief law-books; and in his first four years of professional life he could not have gained very large acquisitions f.om practice, or from the books his brother law- yers brought to the courts. But his com-
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mission to revise and codify the laws was ac- cepted on three conditions, to wit : first that he should have the franking privilege for committee work-Vermont then having its own independent post office department ; second, that he should have the use, in ad- vance, and finally the ownership, of such books as he should choose from the confisca- ted library of Charles Phelps of Marlbor- ough, who had been educated to the law in Northampton, Mass., and settled in Vermont in 1764; and third, that in case the books were redeemed by Phelps, or were not ade- quate compensation, the balance justly due to the committee should be paid in hard money. Phelps was pardoned in October of that year, and such of his property was re- stored as had " not been disposed of for the benefit of the State." This left the law- books in the hands of the committee ; and from these books, and the thorough knowl- edge of the statutes gained by his work on them, Chipman undoubtedly equipped him- self for the bench, to which in fact he was elected in 1786, just as the code had been completed ready for acceptance at the ensu- ing session of the General Assembly in the winter of 1787.
From October, 1784, to October, 1786, Chipman was one of the representatives of Tinmouth in the General Assembly-an office which he doubtless desired as a matter of convenience in revising the laws.
From December 1786, to December 1787, he served as Judge of the Superior Court, being the only lawyer on the bench : and as Chief Justice, from Dec. 1789 to Dec. 1791.
Oct. 23, 1789, he was appointed one of the commissioners of Vermont to settle the long and angry controversy with New York-a work which was happily consummated, Oct. 7th, 1790, and mainly, so far as Vermont was concerned, through the efforts and influence of Judge Chipman. The commissioners reported to the General Assembly Oct. 21, 1790, and on the 27th the report had been accepted and ratified, and a convention called to meet at Bennington Jan. 6, 1791 ; which did meet and adopt the Constitution of the United States. In this convention Judge Chipman was a delegate for Rutland, and he took a leading part in advocating the Federal Constitution. The General Assem- bly met at the same time and place and ap- pointed Judge Chipman and Lewis R. Mor-
ris commissioners to apply to Congress for the admission of Vermont to the Union. They at once made their application, and on Feb. 18, 1791, Vermont was admitted, to date from the 4th of the ensuing March.
In the appointment of federal officers for the State, President Washington selected Na - .thaniel Chipman as Judge of the United States Court for the District of Vermont-an office for life, which, however, the judge re- signed in 1793. In that year he published the first edition of his " Principles of Govern- ment," and also the first edition of his only volume of " Reports and Dissertations."
Resuming the practice of the law, but without a business office, and accepting im- portant cases only, he continued until Oct 1796, when he was again elected Chief Jus- tice, and also one of a committee to revise the code of statute laws. This resulted in the code of 1797, which was written almost entirely by Judge Chipman, and of it the most competent Judges at that day said, they found " no other code of statute laws written in a style so distinguished for simplicity, per- spicuity and technical accuracy." Ere his term of Chief Justice had expired, he was elected United States Senator, holding that office from March 1798, to March 1804.
Not scorning humbler service, he accepted the office of town representative for Tin- mouth in 1805, and held it each successive year until Oct. 1811.
In March 1813, he was elected one of the Council of Censors, heading the list ; and of the very important amendments to the con- stitution proposed by that body-one being the division of legislative power into two co-ordinate branches, which was adopted in 1836-Judge Chipman was a very able advo- cate, in a pamphlet entitled " The Constitu- tionalist."
From Dec. 1813, to Dec. 1815, he again served as Chief Justice. Strictly speaking, this terminated his official life ; and it may be added, that he was displaced on a change of political parties in the government of the State, as in fact he had also been elected in 1813, though to his credit it must be said, that he received more than his party's vote.
In 1816 he was appointed professor of law in Middlebury College, and this position he held, nominally, until the close of his life. In discharging his duties he prepared a I course of lectures, which attracted considera-
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ble attention at the time, and four, selected from the series because of their interest to general readers, were printed in the Life of Chipman.
From 1817, though his intellectual pow- ers were in full vigor, Judge Chipman at- tempted little profess.onal business, owing to his deafness; but he read much, and wrote much, taking the opportunity to re-cast and re-write his " Principles of Government," en- larged by a valuable treatise on the consti- tution and government of the United States. This volume was printed in 1833, when its author was in his 81st year. Nearly con- temporaneous with this was his elaborate and able argument, entitled " Observations on Mr. Calhoun's Expose of his Nullification Doctrines," which was printed in the ap- pendix to the Life of Nathaniel Chipman. These are his last great works, and though written at an age when most men have reached the second stage of infancy, he might safely rest his title to homage and fame on these alone. Indeed, his " Principles of Government" made him famous in both Eu- rope and America ; the extremes in politics gave him equal homage-the democratic Jefferson, and the autocratic Czar of Russia.
This brief review of the public life of Chipman shows that from the second year of his residence in Vermont until he retired from professional business-that is, from 1781 until 1817-he was almost constantly engaged in professional and public services ; but it will be also observed that his active life was, to a remarkable degree, fragmen- tary. If we measure the years passed either at the bar, or on the bench, or in other pub- lic labors, we shall find that the sum of each can be reached only by adding scattered frag- ments of time, a year or two at the bar then a year or two on the bench, alternating thus again and again ; and at no time do we find more than six years of continuous service in one office. Even the brief space spared him for his education, was divided by his service in the army. It is apparent, then, that at no time could Judge Chipman have been a rich man from the avails of his profession or his offices ; in other business he was unfortunate ; and the fact was, that almost for life he ranked with the large majority of his fellow citizens, as a poor man, though in intellectual riches he towered high above princes.
character of his life and services would be exceeding unfavorable, in the case of most men, to the attainment of high distinction in any one of his various fields of labor. But we find his case a remarkable exception, in that, by the unanimous verdict of those who best knew and were best able to judge him, he was alike distinguished for his perfect fa- miliarity with the best literature in the He- brew, Greek, Latin and English languages ; for his wide acquaintance with the whole circle of arts and sciences, and for his pro- found knowledge and exquisite judgment in law and statesmanship. I think I may safe- ly say, that had Judge Chipman been per- mitted to choose any one field for his life's work-as linguist, philosopher, theologian, lawyer, judge, or statesman-he would have reached the highest eminence in either
He was great in almost all the best sorts of knowledge. Given a sound body and mind, a taste for reading and profound re- fection, and a tenacious memory to make his own forever all that his mind once grasped -all the rest was accomplished by persistent industry, and a systematic course of study, labor, and recreation. Six hours of sleep were all that he required during his active life; six hours of reading, or study, or writ- ing, were thus gained daily above the aver- age student of tolerable industry. Chipman ' doubled the usual term of real working and living, by his indomitable industry. " He continued through life to read the Old Tes- tament in the Hebrew, and the New Testa- ment in Greek, with Homer, Virgil and the minor Greek and Latin poets, calculating to go through the course once in a year." This, I fancy, would be quite reading enough for a modern man; but with Mr. Chipman this course of familiar reading was for relaxation from severer studies ; and for mere amusement he scorned not to add novels. This annual feat demonstrates the rapidity with which he could scale the heights and depths of le- gal or other lore, and appropriate to himself all that it was useful to know. He was a systematic student, finding his pleasure so completely in acquiring knowledge and ap- plying it to the pursuits in which he was en- gaged, that his life became eminently intel- lectual and eminently practical and useful.
The writings of Chipman, which have been printed, are not very voluminous ; and
It is equally obvious that the fragmentary I I suspect there remains much in manuscript,
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which, though probably not of great interest in this day, would show both his industry and great learning. His " Reports and Dis- sertations" are yet in demand, having been republished in 1871 ; and his " Principles of Government," edition of 1833, and Chip- man's Lectures, printed in the " Life," are and ever will be valuable text-books for stu- dents in law and statesmanship.
Of his other published writings I will re- fer only to his letters to Alexander Hamilton and the correspondence of the Vermont com- missioners (of whom Chipman was one) and the New York commissioners, on the settle- ment of the old controversy between the two States. Chipman was anxious for the adop- tion of the Federal Constitution and the ad- mission of Vermont to the Union, but he be- lieved that this would strip multitudes of Vermonters of their possessions, as the ulti- mate decision of their land-titles would fall to the United States courts. At the same time Hamilton feared that the requisite num- ber of States might not be secured for the adoption of the Federal constitution, and he therefore desired the vote of Vermont. Still further, he looked to the selection of New York city as the capital of the Union, and hoped to strengthen the chances for success by the aid of Vermont. It was obvious to both that Chittenden and his friends, who ruled Vermont, would never join the Federal Union if it was to be at the sacrifice of a large portion of the people. The only possi- ble solution of the difficulties which baffled Chipman and Hamilton was, to remove the claim of the New York grantees to lands in Vermont by buying them out. And thus the controversy was settled, at a cheap price to Vermont and a large loss to the New York grantees. Hamilton and Chipman were the saviors of Vermont in that emergency. Both entered into the matter zealously. The speech of Hamilton in the New York Legisla. ture in 1787, in favor of a bill for declaring the independence of Vermont, was, said his son, "among the most able fragments of his eloquence which have been preserved." This project of settling the controversy, by the in. dependent and voluntary action of New York, failed ; then followed the correspond- ence of Chipman and Hamilton ; then the diplomacy of the commissioners of the two States. The fruits were, the peaceful settle. ment of the controversy, the adoption of thel
Federal constitution by Vermont, and the admission of the State to the National Union. Justly does the whole State this day render its homage to Nathaniel Chipman.
The politics of Chipman were of the purest and highest order, which, in the days of mere party or personal strife in the political arena, we are forced to distinguish by a specific name, as statesmanship. He sought and adopted true principles, rather than personal or party advantage, and these principles he persistently followed, whether they led him to personal victory or defeat. Hence it is observed that his speeches in the United States Senate were not on local or sectional matters of policy, but on graver topics, such as the privileges and powers of the Senate, and the judicial system of the nation, and I am glad to say that the judicial system which now prevails, after more than seventy years' experience, is in harmony with Chipman's opinions in 1802.
He was a Federalist of the school of Wash- ington, which meant with him, in the most comprehensive terms, that he adhered to the constitution and government of the United States, perfectly administered and obeyed, ac- cording to the original intendment of the peo- ple of the United States in adopting it. A single sentence, written by Judge Chipman to Moses Robinson in 1792, is the essence of Washingtonian Federalism ; and it is pure gold. "The principle of the federal govern- ment is VIRTUE; by which I understand a sen- timent of attachment to the government and laws." Hence when Federalists of New England, who were less purely and truly Federal than himself, seemed to contemplate hostility to the government and Union by the Hartford Convention, he hastened to Montpelier and prevailed upon the represen- tatives of the Federal party of Vermont to withhold all countenance and encouragement from that movement " The Union, it must and shall be preserved," was as much the senti- ment of Chipman then, as it was of President Jackson long afterward, and the all but unan- imous sentiment of the people of Vermont in 1861.
The late William C. Bradley once shrewdly said, that the two States in the Union which had ideas, were Vermont and South Carolina. The truth of this remark will be apparent, when it is remembered that, not only as to slavery, but as to the general policy of the
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national government in the most important points, these States, were antagonists. It is also seen in the fact, that Nathaniel Chipman and John C. Calhoun were the north pole and the south pole of the political sphere, leaders in the great controversy of the rights of the people of all the States within the Union, versus State rights. That long-mooted ques- tion has been decided by the War of the Re- bellion ; and as we stand to-day by the grave ef a learned, pure, and noble statesman of Vermont, we may be justly proud of the rec- ollection, that he, in the peaceful chambers of the Tinmouth farm-house, was really lead- ing the victorious armies of the Union, though far, very far, before the bloody conflict.
. He was small in stature, but large in brain ; as modest and unobtrusive in bearing as he was mighty in intellectual strength; and as free to bestow the riches of his wisdom upon the humblest neighbor, as he was quick to acquire his grand attainments. He was a faithful servant of his State, and country, and one of its brightest ornaments. His fame will outlast the monument you have this day unveiled.
DEDICATION OF THE CHIPMAN MONUMENT.
The exercises connected with the unveil- ing and dedication of the Chipman monu- ment, Oct. 3d, 1873, were attended by a large crowd of people. The shaft rises 16 feet in. height, the marble was selected by Col. Redfield Proctor from the light mourn- ing vein of the Sutherland Falls Marble Company, of the finest quality of stone in design and finish, and is located on a high knoll near the highway, commanding a grand view of the surrounding hills and val- leys.
The inscriptions on the monument are
State of Vermont, to Nathaniel Chipman. Born in Salisbury, Conn., Nov. 15, 1752. Died in Tinmouth, Vt., February 15th, 1843.
A principal founder of the civil institutions of this State, and framer of its fundamental laws.
Eminent as a Lawyer, Judge, Legislator and Statesman, for his ability, learning and fidelity, and as a citizen for bid purity of life.
Graduated at Yale College 1777. An Officer in the war of the Revolution. Came to Tinmonth April 10, 1779. A member of the Rutland County Bar. Chief Justice of Vermont five years. U. S. District Judge two years. U. S. Senator six years. One of the Commissioners who negotiated the admission of Vermont into the Union, 1791.
The Rutland County Bar were out in good numbers.
After a dinner by the people of Tin mouth, a procession formed. Maj. John A. Salis- bury of Rutland, Chief Marshal, East Wal- lingford Band. Chipman Lodge No. 52, F. & A. M., of Wallingford. Orator of the Day and officers in carriages. Rutland County Bar. Invited Guests. Citizens of Tinmonth. Citizens generally, and moved about half a mile to the monument followed by 170 car- riages, including nearly a thousand people.
Gov. Converse having been prevented from being present, had appointed Hon. Hoyt H. Wheeler, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, to represent him in accepting the monument in behalf of the State.
Dedicatory services. Prayer, by Rev. Al- dace Walker, D. D., of Wallingford. State- ment of Hon. Barnes Frisbie, of Poultney, in behalf of the committee, and unveiling of monument. Acceptance of monument in be- half of the State by Judge Wheeler. Ad- dress by Hon. E. P. Walton of Montpelier. Music by the East Wallingford band. Speech of Hon. C. W. Willard, Representative in Congress.
Hon. D. E. Nicholson also made a speech replete with reminiscences and anecdotes of Judge Chipman: letters were read from Judge Poland, Hon. A. B. Waldo of Port Henry, N. Y. and others.
LETTER OF HON. DAVID E. NICHOLSON.
RUTLAND, March 15, 1876.
Miss Hemen way : -
I am in receipt of yours of the 14th inst., requesting from me a little contribut.on for the town of Tinmouth to your forth-coming Gazetteer.
I duly appreciate the compliment, but hasten to credit it largely to the fortunate fact of having the honor of my nativity in this grand old historic town.
And first, the town itself, so rich and diversified with timber, matchless springs of cold, pure water, alluvial soil and mineral wealth, invited immigration, and developed the enterprise which so long gave prominence to this early front-rank town.
But the revolutionizing innovation of rail- roads, which shift the channels and centres of business, has operated to build up the surrounding towns, greatly at the expense of Tinmouth, which, nevertheless, still main-
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tains the position of a rich, romantic, rural ; the trial was conducted with legal fairness. town.
But it was not of such details or the long list of honored names which Tinmouth has sent out to bless the world, or that are en- graved upon the monuments of her cemetery, now more populous than her city, but of one whose monument, standing in the midst of his contemporaries, marks the manifestation of the pride and gratitude of our Common- wealth - the great historic name of Judge Nathaniel Chipman, at whose feet in my childhood and early manhood I was permit- ted to sit, and from whose lips I was favored with hearing words of wisdom.
I do not so much misunderstand you as to suppose that you ask of me from memory a biography of this emminent jurist, scholar and statesman; but in the call you have made upon me, you fairly assume that I may have personal recollections of incidents or anecdotes that may not safely be left in the hazardous care of poor tradition ; and so, at the risk of repeating what may have been written before, I will make a draft on my memory for the following bits in point.
Judge Chipman was a laborous student in other than historic and judicial fields. The Holy Bible was not only critically studied, but to the close of his active life Blackstone itself was not more certainly reviewed than his Greek testament each recurring year. And the materia medica of the doctors' pro- fession, to use his own words, he regularly perused as a " mere pastime, or a relaxation of his sterner studies."
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