Horace Eaton (June 22, 1804 – July 4, 1855) was an American Whig politician, a medical doctor, the 14th lieutenant governor of Vermont, and the 18th governor of Vermont.

Horace Eaton
18th Governor of Vermont
In office
October 9, 1846 – October 1848
LieutenantLeonard Sargeant
Robert Pierpoint
Preceded byWilliam Slade
Succeeded byCarlos Coolidge
14th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office
October 13, 1843 – October 9, 1846
GovernorJohn Mattocks
William Slade
Preceded byWaitstill R. Ranney
Succeeded byLeonard Sargeant
Member of the Vermont Senate
In office
1837
1839–1842
Personal details
Born(1804-06-22)June 22, 1804
Barnard, Vermont
DiedJuly 4, 1855(1855-07-04) (aged 51)
Middlebury, Vermont
Political partyWhig
Professiondoctor / professor / politician

Biography

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Eaton was born in Barnard, Vermont, on June 22, 1804. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1825, taught at Middlebury Academy for two years, then moved to Enosburg, a village in Berkshire, Vermont, where his father practiced medicine. He studied with his father while attending medical school at Castleton State College; Eaton graduated in 1828, and then joined his father's practice. He was married twice; first to Cordelia H. Fuller with whom he had two children, and then to Edna Palmer.[1]

Career

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Eaton was town clerk of Enosburg. He was a member of the Vermont Senate in 1837 and from 1839 to 1842.[2]

Eaton was elected the lieutenant governor of Vermont and served from 1843 to 1846.[3]

Eaton served as the eighteenth governor of Vermont from 1846 to 1848. He was a delegate to the state Constitutional Convention in 1848. During his administration, he opposed the admission of slave states to the Union and to the Mexican War.[4]

Eaton played a key role in the creation of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction position, and he was the first one to hold it, serving from 1845 to 1850. In 1848 he was appointed professor of chemistry and natural history at Middlebury, and held the chair until 1855.

Death

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Eaton died in Middlebury, Vermont, on July 4, 1855, the 79th anniversary of American independence; and is interred at Enosburg Center Cemetery, Enosburg Center, Franklin County, Vermont.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Horace Eaton". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  2. ^ "Horace Eaton". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Horace Eaton". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  4. ^ "Horace eaton". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Whig nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
1843, 1844, 1845
Succeeded by
Preceded by Whig nominee for Governor of Vermont
1846, 1847
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
1843–1846
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Vermont
1846–1848
Succeeded by