Simeon Olcott
{{Short description|American judge}}
{{Infobox Senator
| name = Simeon Olcott
| image = SimeonOlcott.jpg
| imagesize=150px
| jr/sr =United States Senator
| state = New Hampshire
| term_start = June 17, 1801
| term_end = March 3, 1805
| preceded = Samuel Livermore
| succeeded = Nicholas Gilman
| office2=Chief Judge of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
| term_start2=1795
| term_end2=1801
| preceded2=John Pickering
| succeeded2=Jeremiah Smith
| office3=Judge of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
| term_start3=1790
| term_end3=1795
| preceded3=Josiah Bartlett
| succeeded3=Ebenezer Thompson
| office4=Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
| term_start4=1781
| term_end4=1782
| preceded4=Increase Moseley
| succeeded4=Peter Olcott
| birth_date={{birth date|1735|10|1}}
| birth_place=Bolton, Connecticut Colony
| death_date={{death date and age|1815|2|22|1735|10|1}}
| death_place=Charlestown, New Hampshire
| restingplace=Forest Hill Cemetery, Charlestown, New Hampshire
| spouse=Tryphena Terry (m. 1783–1815, his death)
| children=3
| profession=Attorney
| alma_mater=Yale College
| party=Federalist
|}}
Simeon Olcott (October 1, 1735{{spaced ndash}}February 22, 1815) was a New Hampshire attorney and politician. His career began before the American Revolution and continued afterwards, and among the positions in which he served were Chief Judge of the New Hampshire Supreme Court (1795–1801) and United States Senator from New Hampshire (1801–1805).
A native of Bolton, Connecticut, Olcott graduated from Yale College in 1761, studied law, attained admission to the bar, and began to practice in Charlestown, New Hampshire. He quickly became active in politics and government, and served as a town selectman, town meeting moderator, and member of the colonial legislature. He served as Cheshire County Probate Judge during the American Revolution, and when several western New Hampshire towns attempted to join Vermont after the war, Olcott served as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. The attempted union was soon dissolved, and Olcott served on New Hampshire's Court of Common Pleas (1784–1790), as a judge of the Superior Court (later renamed the state Supreme Court) (1790–1795), and chief judge of the Superior Court (1795–1801). In 1801, Olcott was selected to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy created after Samuel Livermore resigned, and he served from 1801 to 1805.
Olcott died in Charlestown in 1815 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown.
Early life
Olcott was born in Bolton, Connecticut Colony, and was a son of Timothy Olcott and Eunice (White) Olcott.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|pages=485-486}} He graduated from Yale College in 1761, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Charlestown, New Hampshire.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=486}}
Start of career
Olcott served in several local offices, including selectman (1769–1770, 1771) and member of the provincial legislature (1771–1774).{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|p=488}} In 1770 and 1772, Olcott was elected as Charlestown's town meeting moderator.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|p=488}} In 1773, Olcott was appointed judge of probate for Cheshire County, and he served throughout the American Revolution.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|p=488}} In 1781, several western New Hampshire towns voted to leave New Hampshire and join Vermont.{{sfn|The Story of Vermont|pp=61–68}} Several residents of these towns were appointed or elected to Vermont offices, including Olcott, who was chosen as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.{{sfn|Justices of the Supreme Court, 1778 – Present|p=1}} The union between New Hampshire's Connecticut River towns and Vermont was soon nullified,{{sfn|Justices of the Supreme Court, 1778 – Present|p=1}} and Olcott resigned as an associate justice in 1782.{{sfn|Justices of the Supreme Court, 1778 – Present|p=1}}
Later career
In 1784, Olcott was appointed chief justice of the New Hampshire Court of Common Pleas,{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=491}} and he was an unsuccessful U.S. House candidate in a 1789 special election.{{Cite web |title=Our Campaigns - NH At-Large - Special Race - Jun 22, 1789 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=279423 |access-date=November 6, 2019 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com}} He held his position as chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas until 1790, when he was appointed a judge of the New Hampshire Superior Court (later renamed the New Hampshire Supreme Court.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=491}} He served until 1795, when he was appointed chief judge, and he held this position until 1801.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=491}} When the country's first political parties were created, Olcott became identified with the Federalists.{{sfn|The Tertium Quid Movement|page=68}}
Samuel Livermore resigned his seat in the United States Senate in 1801.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=491}} The New Hampshire General Court chose Olcott to fill the vacancy, and he served from June 17, 1801, to March 3, 1805.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=491}}
Death and burial
Olcott retired at the completion of his U.S. Senate term and continued to reside in Charlestown.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=492}} He died in Charlestown on February 22, 1815.{{sfn|Descendants of Thomas Olcott|page=26}} He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown.{{sfn|Where They're Buried|page=134}}
Family
In 1783, Olcott married Tryphena Terry of Enfield, Connecticut.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=493}} They were the parents of three children, a son George who died in infancy, a second son named George (1785–1764), who was the longtime cashier of the Connecticut River Bank, and Henry, a career officer in the United States Marine Corps who died in 1821.{{sfn|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire|page=493}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
=Books=
- {{cite book |last=Goodwin |first=Nathaniel |date=1845 |title=Descendants of Thomas Olcott: One of the First Settlers of Hartford, Connecticut |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_qXktAAAAYAAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_qXktAAAAYAAJ/page/n29 26] |location=Hartford, CT |publisher=Case, Tiffany and Burnham |ref={{sfnRef|Descendants of Thomas Olcott}}}}
- {{cite book |last1=Klyza |first1=Christopher McGrory |last2=Trombulak |first2=Stephen C. |date=2015 |title=The Story of Vermont: A Natural and Cultural History, Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIfXBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |location=Hanover, NH |publisher=University Press of New England |isbn=978-1-61168-402-5|ref={{sfnRef|The Story of Vermont}}}}
- {{cite book |last=MacPhee |first=Donald Albert |date=1959 |title=The Tertium Quid Movement: A Study in Political Insurgency |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VlhKAQAAMAAJ&q=%22simeon+olcott%22 |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |ref={{sfnRef|The Tertium Quid Movement}}}}
- {{cite book |last=Saunderson |first=Henry H. |date=1876 |title=History of Charlestown, New Hampshire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVNKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA485 |location=Claremont, NH |publisher=Claremont Manufacturing Company |ref={{sfnRef|History of Charlestown, New Hampshire}}}}
- {{cite book |last=Spencer |first=Thomas E. |date=1998 |title=Where They're Buried |url=https://archive.org/details/wheretheyreburie00spen |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/wheretheyreburie00spen/page/134 134] |location=Baltimore, MD |publisher=Clearfield Company |isbn=978-0-8063-4823-0 |ref={{sfnRef|Where They're Buried}}}}
=Internet=
- {{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/308078/justices.pdf |title=Justices of the Supreme Court, 1778 – Present |last=Vermont Archives and Records Administration |date=2017 |website=sec.state.vt.us |publisher=Vermont Secretary of State |location=Montpelier, VT |ref={{sfnRef|Justices of the Supreme Court, 1778 – Present}}}}
External links
{{CongBio|O000060}}
- {{Findagrave|7120509}}
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{{U.S. Senator box|class=2|state=New Hampshire| before = Samuel Livermore | after = Nicholas Gilman | years =1801–1805| alongside=James Sheafe, William Plumer }}
{{s-end}}
{{USSenNH}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olcott, Simeon}}
Category:People from Bolton, Connecticut
Category:New Hampshire state court judges
Category:United States senators from New Hampshire
Category:Chief justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
Category:New Hampshire Federalists
Category:Federalist Party United States senators
Category:People from Charlestown, New Hampshire
Category:19th-century United States senators
Category:Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections