Samuel Hitchcock

Samuel Hitchcock (March 23, 1755 – November 30, 1813) was the 1st Attorney General of Vermont, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont and a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. He was the son-in-law of Ethan Allen and the father of Ethan A. Hitchcock. Education and career Born on March 23, 1755, in Brimfield, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America, Hitchcock graduated from Harvard University in 1777. He read law with Jedediah Foster in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, attained admission to the bar, and practiced in Worcester, Massachusetts. He moved to Manchester, Republic of Vermont in 1784. Hitchcock continued private practice in Burlington, Republic of Vermont from 1786 to 1787. He was state's attorney for Chittenden County, Republic of Vermont from 1787 to 1790. He was the 1st Attorney General of Vermont (Republic of Vermont until March 4, 1791, State of Vermont, United States on and from that date) from 1790 to 1793. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives (under the Republic of Vermont and State of Vermont) from 1789 to 1793. Hitchcock also served as a Justice of the Peace and heard cases in Burlington. In 1791, Hitchcock was a delegate to the Vermont convention which ratified the United States Constitution and enabled Vermont to join the Union as the 14th state. Hitchcock drafted the charter for the University of Vermont, was an original member of its board of trustees, and was the longtime secretary of the board. In 1792, he was one of Vermont's presidential electors, casting his ballots for Washington for President and Adams for Vice President.