Thomas Bartlett Jr. (June 18, 1808 – September 12, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont.

Thomas Bartlett Jr.
Member of the
United States House of Representatives
from Vermont's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Preceded byLucius Benedict Peck
Succeeded byNone (district eliminated)
Member of the Vermont Senate
In office
1841–1843
Serving with Daniel W. Aiken
Preceded byWalter Harvey, Elias Bemiss Jr.
Succeeded byGeorge C. Cahoon, John Phillips
ConstituencyCaledonia County
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1854–1856
Preceded byEpaphras B. Chase
Succeeded byDaniel L. Ray
In office
1850–1851
Preceded byStephen McGaffey
Succeeded byJohn D. Miller
ConstituencyLyndon
State's Attorney of Caledonia County, Vermont
In office
1839–1842
Preceded byCharles Davis
Succeeded byTheron Howard
Personal details
Born(1808-06-18)June 18, 1808
Sutton, Vermont, US
DiedSeptember 12, 1876(1876-09-12) (aged 68)
Lyndon, Vermont, US
Resting placeLyndon Town Cemetery, Lyndon, Vermont, US
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionPolitician, Lawyer

Biography

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Bartlett was born in Sutton, Vermont,[1] and attended the common schools. He studied law under Isaac Fletcher at the same time as Thomas J. D. Fuller, and was admitted to the bar in 1833.[2][3] He began the practice of law in Groton, Vermont.[4] In 1836 he moved to Lyndon, Vermont, where he continued to practice law.

From 1839 until 1842, Bartlett served as the State's attorney for Caledonia County.[5] He was a member of the Vermont State Senate in 1841 and 1842,[6] and served in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1849, 1850, 1854 and 1855.[7] Bartlett was a delegate to the State constitutional conventions in 1850 and 1857,[8] and was President of the Vermont Constitutional Convention in 1850.[9]

Bartlett was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress, serving from March 4, 1851, until March 3, 1853.[10] In Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings.[11] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852. After leaving Congress, Bartlett resumed the practice of law.

In 1851, Bartlett aired his dismay for the current behavior of college students in a letter that appeared in the July 19, 1851, edition of the Caledonian, a newspaper printed at St. Johnsbury, VT. The letter then became a pamphlet entitled "An Epistolary Disquisition on College Morality." His main complaint was what he felt was the loose language of college students. He had sent the letter to the editor outlining his complaints and the pamphlet, written just before his induction to the 32nd Congress, was written to justify his earlier criticisms. A pamphlet mocking Bartlett for his criticisms of "the shockingly profane and obscene" language he complains of was circulated in late 1851 with Barlett's letter printed intact and a mocking rebuke of the letter and its author following.

Death

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Bartlett died on September 12, 1876, in Lyndon, Vermont. He is interred in Lyndon Town Cemetery in Lyndon.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Past History of the Geographic Area of Caledonia County". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  2. ^ Crockett, Walter Hill (1921). Vermont: The Green Mountain State. Vol. 3. The Century History Company. pp. 388.
  3. ^ "Lyndon: Thomas J. D. Fuller". Vermont Journal. Windsor, VT. March 18, 1876. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Dodge, Andrew R. (2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. United States Congress. p. 619. ISBN 9780160731761.
  5. ^ "Docket of Thomas Bartlett, 1848-1876". Vermont Historical Society. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  6. ^ Vermont Historical Society (1921). Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society. Vermont Historical Society. pp. 84.
  7. ^ "Bartlett, Thomas, Jr., (1808 - 1876)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  8. ^ "Bartlett, Thomas, Jr. (1808-1876)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  9. ^ Bartlett, Thomas Edward (1802). The Bartletts: Ancestral, Genealogical, Biographical, Historical. Stafford Printing Co. p. 97.
  10. ^ "Lucius Benedict Peck". Govtrack.us. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  11. ^ The Washington and Georgetown Directory. Kirkwood & McGill. 1853. p. 33. ISBN 9781425540517.
  12. ^ United States House of Representatives
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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Vermont's 4th congressional district

1851–1853
Succeeded by
District eliminated