Joel Doolittle
{{Short description|American judge (1773–1841)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Joel Doolittle
|image = Joel Doolitle (Vermont Supreme Court Justice).jpg
|alt = 1859 head and shoulders engraving of Joel Doolittle
|caption = From 1859's History of Middlebury, Vermont by Samuel Swift
|office1 = Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
|term_start1 = 1824
|term_end1 = 1825
|predecessor1 = Charles K. Williams
|successor1 = Samuel Prentiss
|term_start2 = 1817
|term_end2 = 1822
|predecessor2 = James Fisk
|successor2 = Charles K. Williams
|birth_date = {{Birth year|1773}}
|birth_place = Russell, Massachusetts, U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1841|03|09|1773|04|30}}
|death_place = Middlebury, Vermont
|resting_place = Middlebury Cemetery, Middlebury, Vermont
|party = Democratic-Republican
|spouse = Sarah Porter Fitch (m. 1809–1841, his death)
|children = 7
|education = Yale University
Middlebury College
|occupation = Attorney
}}
Joel Doolittle (April, 1773/1774 – March 9, 1841) was a Vermont attorney, judge and politician. He served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, a member of the state executive council, president of the state Council of Censors, and a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.
Biography
Joel Doolittle was born in Russell, Massachusetts in April, 1773 (or 1774), the son of Titus and Mary (Lewis) Doolittle.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}} He attended Williams College from 1795 to 1797,{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}} and graduated from Yale University in 1799.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=278–279}} After graduation, Doolittle settled in Middlebury, Vermont to work as one of the first two faculty members at Middlebury College while also continuing his own studies, both at the college and in a local law office.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}} He was admitted to the bar in 1801,{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=278–279}} and received a Master of Arts degree from Middlebury College in 1802.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}}
Doolittle maintained an extensive practice in Middlebury, and was also a sought after legal instructor; among the attorneys who received their training in his office were Asa Aikens{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=180}}{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|page=10}} and William Slade.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|page=10}} During the War of 1812, Doolittle joined the regiment of Vermont Militia that was commanded by Colonel William B. Sumner, and he was subsequently appointed as Sumner's adjutant.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|page=434}}
Active politically as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, in 1815 Doolittle was elected to the Vermont Governor's Council, and he served until 1817.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=278–279}} In 1817, Doolittle was elected a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and he held this position until 1822.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=278–279}} In 1824, he served in the Vermont House of Representatives.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}} Later that year he returned to the court, and he served until 1825.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=278–279}}
In 1834, Doolittle was named president of the Vermont Council of Censors, the body which met every seven years to review actions of the state government and ensure their constitutionality.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}}
Doolittle was elected a member of the Middlebury College Corporation in 1819, and he served until his death.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=278–279}} He was also active in the Episcopal denomination, and was one of the founders of St. Steven's church in Middlebury.{{sfn|History of the Town of Middlebury|pages=414–415}}
Death and burial
Doolittle died in Middlebury on March 9, 1841.{{sfn|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College|pages=x–xi}} He was buried at Middlebury Cemetery (also known as West Cemetery).{{sfn|"Index, West Cemetery"}}
Family
In 1809, Doolittle married Sarah Porter Fitch (1790–1875) of Pawlet, Vermont.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|page=74}}{{sfn|"Married, Joel Doolittle, Esq."|page=3}} Their children included:
- John Titus (1811–1871), an attorney and judge, and the husband of Ann M. Marshall of Painesville, Ohio.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|pages=74–75}}
- Charles Hubbard (1814–1890), an attorney and judge, and the husband of Elizabeth Kemp. Charles H. Doolittle resided in Elyria, Ohio.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|pages=74, 77}}
- Mary Lewis (1817–1830), who died in Middlebury before reaching adulthood.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|page=74}}
- Sarah Porter (1819–1898), the wife of Joel S. Alvord of Painesville, Ohio.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|page=74}}
- Elizabeth B. (1821–1886), the wife of Henry C. Gray of Painesville, Ohio.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|pages=74, 77}}
- Joel Jr. (1822–1884), a resident of Painesville, Ohio who operated a real estate and insurance business and held local offices including village assessor. He never married or had children.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|page=74}}
- Mark R. (1824–1897), the husband of Alta B. Briggs, and a newspaper publisher and editor in Painesville, Ohio.{{sfn|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont|pages=74, 79}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
=Books=
- {{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=John S. |date=1910 |title=The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/descendantsmose00lawrgoog |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=F. A. Onderdonk |ref={{sfnRef|The Descendants of Moses and Sarah Kilham Porter of Pawlet, Vermont}}}}
- {{cite book |last=Swift |first=Samuel |date=1859 |title=History of the Town of Middlebury |url=https://archive.org/details/historytownmidd00goog |location=Middlebury, VT |publisher=A. H. Copeland |ref={{sfnRef|History of the Town of Middlebury}}}}
- {{cite book |last=Ullery |first=Jacob G. |date=1894 |title=Men of Vermont Illustrated |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Nvg_AAAAYAAJ |location=Brattleboro, VT |publisher=Transcript Publishing Company |ref={{sfnRef|Men of Vermont Illustrated}}}}
- {{cite book |last=Wiley |first=Edgar J. |date=1917 |title=Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TapBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR10 |location=Middlebury College |publisher=Middlebury, VT |ref={{sfnRef|Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College}}}}
=Internet=
- {{cite web |url=https://midddigital.middlebury.edu/cemeteryindexes/MiddleburyWest.html |title=Index, West Cemetery, Middlebury, Vermont |last1=Selleck |first1=Ron |last2=Selleck |first2=Sally |last3=Williams |first3=Linda |date=2002 |website=Middlebury.edu |publisher=Middlebury College |location=Middlebury, VT |access-date=June 24, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|"Index, West Cemetery"}}}}
=Newspapers=
- {{cite news |date=November 8, 1809 |title=Married, Joel Doolittle, Esq. and Miss Sally Fitch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104340671/married/ |work=Rutland Herald |location=Rutland, VT |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Married, Joel Doolittle, Esq."}}}}
External links
- {{Findagrave|43385890}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new|first}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Governor of Vermont|years=1824, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829}}
{{s-aft|after=Ezra Meech}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|title=Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
|before=James Fisk
|after=Charles K. Williams
|years=1817–1822}}
{{succession box
|title=Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
|before=Charles K. Williams
|after=Samuel Prentiss
|years=1824–1825}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doolittle, Joel}}
Category:Politicians from Hampden County, Massachusetts
Category:People from Middlebury, Vermont
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:Middlebury College alumni
Category:American militiamen in the War of 1812
Category:Vermont Democratic-Republicans
Category:Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
Category:Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court
Category:U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
Category:19th-century American lawyers
Category:19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly