Dudley Chase (December 30, 1771 – February 23, 1846) was a U.S. Senator from Vermont who served from 1813 to 1817 and again from 1825 to 1831. He was born in Cornish, New Hampshire.[1]

Dudley Chase
United States Senator
from Vermont
In office
March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1831
Preceded byWilliam A. Palmer
Succeeded bySamuel Prentiss
In office
March 4, 1813 – November 3, 1817
Preceded byStephen R. Bradley
Succeeded byJames Fisk
Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office
1817–1820
Preceded byRichard Skinner
Succeeded byCornelius P. Van Ness
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1808–1813
Preceded byAaron Leland
Succeeded byDaniel Chipman
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Randolph
In office
1823–1825
Preceded byShubael Converse
Succeeded byLebbeus Egerton
In office
1805–1813
Preceded byJames Tarbox
Succeeded byJames Tarbox
State's Attorney of Orange County, Vermont
In office
1803–1812
Preceded byCharles Bulkley
Succeeded byElisha Hotchkiss
Personal details
Born(1771-12-30)December 30, 1771
Cornish, New Hampshire
DiedFebruary 23, 1846(1846-02-23) (aged 74)
Randolph Center, Vermont, US
Political partyDemocratic-Republican,
National Republican
SpouseOlivia Brown (m. 1796)
RelationsPhilander Chase (brother)
Salmon P. Chase (nephew)
Dudley Chase Denison (nephew)
EducationDartmouth College
ProfessionAttorney

Career edit

After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1791,[2] he studied law under Lot Hall in Westminster, Vermont.[3] In 1793, he was admitted to the Vermont bar.[4]

Chase lived, farmed, and practiced law in Randolph, Vermont.[5] He was Orange County State's Attorney from 1803 to 1812.[6] He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1805 to 1812, serving as Speaker from 1808 to 1812.[7] He was elected to the state constitutional conventions in 1814 and 1822.[8]

Chase was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democratic-Republican in 1812 and served from 1813 to 1817, when he resigned.[9] He was the first ever Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, serving from 1816 to 1817.[10]

After resigning in 1817, he returned to Vermont, where he was chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court until 1821.[11] He served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1823 to 1824.[12]

He returned to national politics in 1825 when he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the U.S. Senate, serving until 1831.[13]

Dudley Chase died in Randolph on February 23, 1846.[14]

Family edit

Dudley Chase was the son of Dudley & Alice (Corbett) Chase, an uncle of Salmon P. Chase[15] (Treasury Secretary, 1861–1864 and Chief Justice of the United States, 1864–1873) and Dudley Chase Denison[16] (a U.S. Representative from Vermont). He was the brother of Philander Chase.[17]

Home edit

Dudley Chase's Randolph Center home still stands and is a private residence.[18]

Attempts to locate portrait edit

Chase is one of between 40 and 50 U.S. Senators for whom the Senate historian has no portrait, photograph, or other likeness on file.[19] According to Randolph historian and Chase descendant Harriet M. Chase, no portrait of Dudley Chase was ever painted. Other efforts to locate a likeness of Dudley Chase have also proved unsuccessful.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ John Lauris Blake, A Biographical Dictionary, 1859, page 271
  2. ^ Gerald W. McFarland, The "Counterfeit" Man: The True Story of the Boorn-Colvin Murder Case, 1993, page 83
  3. ^ Hemenway, Abby Maria (1871). The Vermont Historical Gazetteer. Vol. 2. Burlington, VT: A. M. Hemenway. p. 1025.
  4. ^ William R. Denslow, Harry S. Truman, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, Part One (A to J), 2004, page 201
  5. ^ Abby Maria Hemenway, The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Volume 2, 1871, page 1051
  6. ^ Vermont Historical Society, Annual Meetings Proceedings, 1920, page 92
  7. ^ Jared Sparks, Francis Bowen, George Partridge Sanger, American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge, Volume 18, 1846, page 331
  8. ^ George Thomas Chapman, Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College, 1867, page 58
  9. ^ Zadock Thompson, History of the State of Vermont, 1833, page 245
  10. ^ William F. Patry, Copyright Law and Practice, Volume 3, 1994, page 2241
  11. ^ Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, 1912, page 57
  12. ^ Jacob G. Ullery, Men of Vermont Illustrated, 1894, page 111
  13. ^ Jacob William Schuckers, The Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland Chase], 1874, page 3
  14. ^ Niles' National Register, Hon. Dudley Chase Died, March 14, 1846
  15. ^ John Niven, Salmon P. Chase: A Biography, 1995, page 21
  16. ^ Hiram Carleton, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, 1903, page 356
  17. ^ Philander Chase, Reminiscences of Bishop Chase, 1843, page 588
  18. ^ Mim Herwig, Randolph Center Notes, Randolph Herald, June 14, 2012
  19. ^ U.S. Senate Photo Historian, Senators Not Represented in Senate Historical Office Photo Collection, accessed July 7, 2012
  20. ^ Vermont Bar Association, Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1935, page 90

External resources edit

Party political offices
Preceded by Anti-Jacksonian nominee for Governor of Vermont
1823
Succeeded by
None
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
1808–1813
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from Vermont
1813–1817
Served alongside: Jonathan Robinson, Isaac Tichenor
Succeeded by
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from Vermont
1825–1831
Served alongside: Horatio Seymour
Succeeded by