{{Short description|American judge (1752–1843)}} {{hatnote|This article is not about [[Nathaniel Chapman]].}} {{redirect|Senator Chipman|the Wisconsin State Senate member|William Everett Chipman}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Nathaniel Chipman | image = Nathaniel Chipman (US Senator from Vermont).jpg | alt = | caption = Chipman, {{circa|1800}} | jr/sr = United States Senator | state = [[Vermont]] | term_start = October 17, 1797 | term_end = March 3, 1803 | predecessor = [[Isaac Tichenor]] | successor = [[Israel Smith]] | office1 = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont]] | term_start1 = March 4, 1791 | term_end1 = January 1, 1793 | appointer1 = [[List of federal judges appointed by George Washington|George Washington]] | predecessor1 = ''Seat established by 1 Stat. 197'' | successor1 = [[Samuel Hitchcock]] | office2 = [[List of justices of the Vermont Supreme Court|Chief Judge]] of the [[Vermont Supreme Court]] | term_start2 = 1813 | term_end2 = 1815 | predecessor2 = [[Royall Tyler]] | successor2 = [[Asa Aldis]] | term_start3 = 1796 | term_end3 = 1797 | predecessor3 = [[Isaac Tichenor]] | successor3 = [[Israel Smith]] | term_start4 = 1789 | term_end4 = 1791 | predecessor4 = [[Moses Robinson]] | successor4 = [[Samuel Knight (judge)|Samuel Knight]] | office5 = [[List of justices of the Vermont Supreme Court|Judge]] of the [[Vermont Supreme Court]] | term_start5 = 1786 | term_end5 = 1787 | predecessor5 = [[John Fassett Jr.]] | successor5 = None{{Efn|Court reduced from 5 seats to 3}} | birth_date = {{Birth date|1752|11|15}} | birth_place = [[Salisbury, Connecticut|Salisbury]], [[Connecticut Colony]], [[British America]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1843|02|13|1752|11|15}} | death_place = [[Tinmouth, Vermont|Tinmouth]], [[Vermont]], U.S. | resting_place = Tinmouth Cemetery | party = [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] | spouse = {{marriage|Sarah Hill|1781}} | children = 6 (including [[Henry C. Chipman|Henry]]) | relatives = [[Daniel Chipman]] (brother)<br>[[Lemuel Chipman]] (brother)<br>[[John Logan Chipman]] (grandson)<br>[[John W. Brownson (New York politician)|John W. Brownson]] (grandson) | education = [[Yale University]] | profession = Attorney | signature = Signature of Nathaniel Chipman (1752–1843).png | branch = [[Continental Army]] | branch_label = Service | service_years = 1777–1778 | rank = [[First lieutenant (United States)|First Lieutenant]] | unit = [[2nd Connecticut Regiment]] | battles = {{tree list}} * [[American Revolutionary War]] ** [[Battle of White Marsh]] {{tree list/end}} | battles_label = Wars }} '''Nathaniel Chipman''' (November 15, 1752{{spaced ndash}}February 13, 1843) was an American politician who served as a [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from [[Vermont]] and [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Vermont Supreme Court]]. A [[Yale College]] graduate and [[Continental Army]] veteran of the [[American Revolution]], Chipman became a prominent attorney and advocate for Vermont statehood. When Vermont was [[admission to the Union|admitted to the Union]], he served as the first judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont]].
After Vermont became the fourteenth state, Chipman became a leader of its [[Federalist Party]]. In addition to his legal and political work, Chipman authored several works on government and law, served for 28 years as Professor of Law at [[Middlebury College]], and was a [[satirical poet]].
==Early life and education== Chipman was born in [[Salisbury, Connecticut|Salisbury]], [[Connecticut Colony]], [[British America]] on November 15, 1752, a son of Samuel Chipman and Hannah (Austin) Chipman.<ref name=FJC>{{FJC Bio|422|nid=1379066|name=Nathaniel Chipman<!--(1752–1843)-->}}</ref> Chipman was privately tutored, then began attendance at [[Yale University]], from which he graduated in 1777.<ref name=FJC/><ref name=CB>{{CongBio|C000369|inline=yes}}</ref>
In January 1777, Chipman left Yale to volunteer for the [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]], and he received his diploma while he was serving.<ref name=FJC/><ref name=CB/> He was commissioned as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[2nd Connecticut Regiment]], and joined the army in Pennsylvania.<ref name="Johnston">{{cite book |last=Johnston |first=Henry P. |date=1888 |title=Yale and Her Honor-Roll in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAcAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA328 |location=New York, NY |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |page=328 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> He took part in the December 1777 [[Battle of White Marsh]], and went into winter quarters with his unit at [[Valley Forge]], where they remained until June 1778.<ref name="Johnston"/> Chipman was promoted to [[First lieutenant (United States)|first lieutenant]] on December 29, 1777.<ref name="Johnston"/> Chipman through the summer of 1778, and resigned his commission at [[White Plains, New York]] on October 16, 1778.<ref name="Johnston"/>
== Career == Chipman left the army to move to the [[Vermont Republic]], where he attained [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admission to the bar]] and entered private practice in [[Tinmouth, Vermont|Tinmouth]].<ref name=FJC/> Chipman also continued his military service as a member of Captain John Spafford's Company, a unit of the militia regiment commanded by Colonel Gideon Warren.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goodrich |first=John E. |date=1904 |title=Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZ8-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA166 |location=Rutland, VT |publisher=The Tuttle Company |page=166 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> He was state's attorney in [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]] from 1781 to 1785, and a member of the [[Vermont House of Representatives]] from 1784 to 1785.<ref name=FJC/> He was a judge of the [[Supreme Court of Vermont]] from 1786 to 1787, and served as chief judge from 1789 to 1791.<ref name=FJC/>
=== Vermont's admission to the Union === On February 9, 1791, Chipman met with President [[George Washington]] to notify him officially of Vermont's decision to apply for [[admission to the Union]] as the 14th state.<ref>{{cite book |last=U.S. House of Representatives |date=1826 |title=Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States: 1st–13th Congresses |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Z0FAAAAQAAJ&q=february+1791+nathaniel+chipman+meet+george+washington+vermont&pg=PA412 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Gales & Seaton |page=412}}</ref> [[New York (state)|New York]] had long objected to the existence of the government of Vermont on the grounds that Vermont was part of New York, a position that dated back to a pre-Revolutionary War dispute between the colonial governors of New York and [[New Hampshire]] over the right to sell Vermont land grants.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sarah D. |first=Brooks Blair |date=2008 |title=Reforming Methodism: 1800–1820 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oYLa2Mbe85kC&q=new+york+new+hampshire+dispute+land+grants+vermont&pg=PA18 |location=Ann Arbor, MI |publisher=ProQuest, LLC |page=18 |isbn=978-1-2435-3411-8}}</ref>
In 1790, New York agreed to give up its claim provided that an agreement on the boundary between Vermont and New York could be concluded.<ref name="Hildreth">{{cite book |last=Hildreth |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Hildreth |date=1875 |title=The History of the United States of America |volume=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pskcAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA269 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Harper & Brothers |pages=268–269 |isbn=9780608355610 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In consideration of New York giving up its claim to Vermont, Vermont paid $30,000 as an indemnity to owners of Vermont land who had received their grants from New York (about $800,000 in 2015).<ref>{{cite book |last=Foley |first=Janet Wethy |date=1940 |title=Early Settlers of New York State: Their Ancestors and Descendants; Part One |volume=I–III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpxrPm-x_iAC&q=new+york+1790+relinquish+claim+vermont&pg=PA62 |location=Westminster, MD |publisher=Heritage Books |page=62 |isbn=978-0-7884-3711-3}}</ref> On February 18, 1791, Congress decided to [[admission to the Union|admit Vermont to the Union]], effective March 4, 1791.<ref>{{cite book |last=Donaldson |first=Thomas |date=1880 |title=The Public Domain: Its History, with Statistics |url=https://archive.org/details/publicdomainits00goog |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government printing Office |page=[https://archive.org/details/publicdomainits00goog/page/n58 42]}}</ref>
=== Federal judicial service === Following the admission of the State of [[Vermont]] to the Union, President [[George Washington]] nominated Chipman as the first judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont]], a new seat authorized by {{USStat|1|197}}.<ref name=FJC/> He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on March 4, 1791, and received his commission the same day.<ref name=FJC/> He resigned on January 1, 1793.<ref name=FJC/>
=== State service === Following his resignation from the federal bench, Chipman resumed private practice in Tinmouth from 1793 to 1796.<ref name=FJC/> In 1833, he authored the book ''Sketches of the Principles of Government''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Evans |first=Charles |date=1925 |title=American Bibliography |volume=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UabfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA34 |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Columbia Press |page=34 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Chipman served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont from 1796 to 1797.<ref name=FJC/>
=== Congressional service === Chipman was elected as a [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] from Vermont to the [[United States Senate]] to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[United States Senator]] [[Isaac Tichenor]] and served from October 17, 1797, until March 3, 1803.<ref name=CB/><ref>{{cite web|title=Nathaniel Chipman|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/nathaniel_chipman/402508|publisher=Govtrack. US Congress|accessdate=20 November 2012}}</ref> He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection.<ref name=CB/>
==Later career== Following his departure from Congress, Chipman resumed practicing law in Tinmouth.<ref name=FJC/> He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1806 to 1809 and in 1811.<ref name=FJC/> He was a member of the [[Vermont Council of Censors]] in 1813.<ref name=FJC/> He was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont from 1813 to 1815.<ref name=FJC/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/308078/justices.pdf |title=Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court, 1778–Present |last=Vermont State Archives and Records Administration |date=2017 |website=www.sec.state.vt.us/ |publisher=Vermont Secretary of State |location=Montpelier, VT |page=2}}</ref> He was a professor of law at [[Middlebury College]] starting in 1816.<ref name=FJC/><ref>{{cite book|title=Nathaniel Chipman|year=1912|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_tt2_3hTQxFMC|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_tt2_3hTQxFMC/page/n434 367]|publisher=Encyclopedia, Vermont Biography|accessdate=20 November 2012}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Chipman was the brother of [[Daniel Chipman]], a [[United States representative]] from Vermont, and the grandfather of [[John Logan Chipman]], a United States Representative from [[Michigan]].<ref name=CB/> In 1781, Chipman married Sarah Hill (1762–1831), they had six children, including [[Henry C. Chipman]].<ref name="Chipman">{{cite book |last=Chipman |first=Bert Lee |date= 1920 |title=The Chipman Family: A Genealogy of the Chipmans in America, 1631–1920 |url=https://archive.org/details/chipmanfamilyag00chipgoog |location=Winston-Salem, North Carolina |publisher=Winston Printing Company |pages= [https://archive.org/details/chipmanfamilyag00chipgoog/page/n58 50], 105–109}}</ref> Another son, Jeffrey Chipman, was a [[Justice of the Peace]] in [[Canandaigua, New York|Canandaigua]], [[New York (state)|New York]] in the 1820s, and was the jurist from whom those attempting to prevent [[William Morgan (anti-Mason)|William Morgan]] from publishing a book opposing Freemasonry obtained an arrest warrant for Morgan, which eventually led to Morgan's disappearance and presumed death and the founding of the [[Anti-Masonic Party]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Conover |first=Jefferson S. |date= 1897|title=Freemasonry in Michigan: A Comprehensive History of Michigan Masonry, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0NOAAAAMAAJ&q=%22jeffrey+chipman%22+%22william+morgan%22+justice&pg=PA145 |location=Coldwater, Michigan |publisher=Conover Printing Company |page=145}}</ref>
Chipman was the grandfather of [[John W. Brownson (New York politician)|John W. Brownson]], a member of the [[New York State Senate]].<ref name="Chipman"/>{{rp|50}} <ref name="Brownson">{{cite book |last=Brownson |first=Ernest Ray |date=1951 |title=Genealogy of One Branch of the Richard Brownson Family, 1631-1951 |url=https://archive.org/details/genealogyofonebr00brow/page/226/mode/2up |location=Mayville, ND |publisher=E. R. Brownson |pages=222–223 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Brownson was the son of Dr. John Brownson and Nathaniel Chipman's daughter Laura.<ref name="Chipman"/>{{rp|50}} <ref name="Brownson"/>
Chipman died on February 17, 1843, in Tinmouth.<ref name="FJC" /> He was interred in Tinmouth Cemetery.<ref name="CB" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Nathaniel Chipman |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/chipman.html#096.90.85 |accessdate=20 November 2012 |publisher=The Political Graveyard}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * [https://www.amazon.com/Life-Nathaniel-Chipman-Formerly-Justice/dp/1437326528 ''The Life of Nathaniel Chipman'', by Daniel Chipman], Kessinger Publishing, LLC (November 26, 2008)
===Primary sources=== * Hansen, Allen Oscar. ''Liberalism and American education in the eighteenth century'' (1926; reprinted 1965, 1977) [https://archive.org/details/liberalismameric0000hans/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater&q=CHIPMAN for his plan to reform education].
==External links== {{CongBio|C000369}} * {{FJC Bio|422|nid=1379066|name=Nathaniel Chipman<!--(1752–1843)-->}} * [https://archive.org/details/historicalregis02heitgoog/page/n161 <!-- pg=154 --> Service record] from Francis B. Heitman's ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army'' * [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/chipman.html#096.90.85 The Political Graveyard] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=tt2_3hTQxFMC&dq=Charles+M.+Smith+governor+of+vermont++biography&pg=PA367 Encyclopedia, Vermont Biography] * {{Find a Grave|7180805}} * [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/nathaniel_chipman/402508 Govtrack. US Congress]
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 1 Stat. 197}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont]]}}|years=1791–1793}} {{s-aft|after=[[Samuel Hitchcock]]}} {{s-par|us-sen}} {{U.S. Senator box |class=1 |state=Vermont |before=[[Isaac Tichenor]] |after=[[Israel Smith]] |years=1797–1803 }} {{s-hon}} {{s-bef|before=[[Samuel Smith (Maryland politician)|Samuel Smith]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Oldest living United States senator|years=1839–1843}} {{s-aft|after=[[Asher Robbins]]}} {{s-end}}
{{USSenVT|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chipman, Nathaniel}} [[Category:1752 births]] [[Category:1843 deaths]] [[Category:People from Salisbury, Connecticut]] [[Category:People from colonial Connecticut]] [[Category:Federalist Party United States senators from Vermont]] [[Category:Vermont Federalists]] [[Category:Members of the Vermont House of Representatives]] [[Category:People from Rutland County, Vermont]] [[Category:State's attorneys in Vermont]] [[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont]] [[Category:Chief justices of the Vermont Supreme Court]] [[Category:United States federal judges appointed by George Washington]] [[Category:18th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:19th-century Vermont state court judges]] [[Category:19th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:Yale College alumni]] [[Category:Continental Army officers from Connecticut]] [[Category:19th-century United States senators]] [[Category:18th-century United States senators]] [[Category:American people of English descent]]