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James M. Hotchkiss

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James M. Hotchkiss (May 27, 1812 - May 7, 1877) was a Vermont farmer, businessman, and politician. He served in the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont Senate, and was chosen to serve as the Senate's President pro tem.

Biography

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James Madison Hotchkiss was born in Georgia, Vermont on May 27, 1812, the son of James Hotchkiss and Alice (Story) Hotchkiss.[1] He was educated in Georgia, and in 1832 he purchased a farm in Fairfax in partnership with his brother Hiram.[1] They operated the farm for several years, after which James Hotchkiss established himself as a merchant in Fairfax.[1] He later moved to Waterville, where he continued his mercantile career, and returned to Fairfax after 20 years as a Waterville resident.[1]

Hotchkiss was involved in politics as an advocate of abolishing slavery, and as the abolition movement grew and coalesced, he moved successively from the Opposition[2] Party to the Free Soil Party[3] to the Republican Party.[4] He represented Waterville in the Vermont House of Representatives in the early 1850s,[2][3] and served as one of the assistant judges of Lamoille County from 1851 to 1853.[5] Hotchkiss served in the Vermont Senate from 1856 to 1857, and was chosen to serve as the Senate's President pro tem in 1856.[6]

During the American Civil War, Hotchkiss supported the Union.[7] During and immediately after the conflict, he took part in political conventions of the Unionist Party, which aimed to fuse Republicans and pro-Union Democrats in support of the war effort and Reconstruction measures that were less severe than those proposed by Radical Republican movement.[7]

After returning to Fairfax, Hotchkiss remained active in politics as a delegate to numerous Republican conventions,[8] and in local offices including Town Meeting Moderator.[9] He was involved in managing his business interests until 1874, after which he lived in retirement in Fairfax.[1]

Death and burial

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Hotchkiss died in Fairfax on May 7, 1877.[1] He was buried at Sanderson Corners Cemetery in Fairfax.

Family

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In 1835, Hotchkiss married Mariel Story.[10] She died in 1851, and later that year he married Harriet Horsford of Cambridge.[11] With his first wife, Hotchkiss was the father of two children, Hiram J. (1841-1851)[12] and James M. Jr. (1842-1863).[13] Another son, also named Hiram, was born in 1837 and died sometime before 1841.[14]

Hotchkiss' brother Cyrus was a member of the Vermont Senate, and his nephew Cephas served in the Vermont House of Representatives.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, p. 697.
  2. ^ a b Catalogue of the Principal Officers of Vermont, p. 205.
  3. ^ a b "Vermont Election: The House - Complete", p. 2.
  4. ^ "The State Convention", p. 2.
  5. ^ Gazetteer and Business Directory of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, Vt. for 1883-84, p. 34.
  6. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives and Senate of the State of Vermont (1856), p. 16.
  7. ^ a b "Union State Convention", p. 1.
  8. ^ "The Third District Convention", p. 3.
  9. ^ "Town Officers: Fairfax; Moderator", p. 2.
  10. ^ "Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, Marriage Entry for James M. Hotchkiss and Mariah Story".
  11. ^ "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908, Marriage Record for Hon. James M Hotchkiss and Harriet Horsford".
  12. ^ "Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, Death Record for Hiram J. Hotchkiss".
  13. ^ "Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, Death Record for James M. Hotchkiss Jr.".
  14. ^ "Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, Birth Record for Hiram Hotchkiss".

Sources

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Books

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  • Aldrich, Lewis Cass (1891). History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co. p. 697.
  • Child, Hamilton (1883). Gazetteer and Business Directory of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, Vt. for 1883-84. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Journal.
  • Deming, Leonard (1851). Catalogue of the Principal Officers of Vermont. Middlebury, VT: Leonard Deming.
  • Vermont General Assembly (1856). Journal of the House of Representatives and Senate of the State of Vermont. Montpelier, VT: E. P. Walton.

Newspapers

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Internet

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Political offices
Preceded by President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate
1856 		Succeeded by
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