Stephen Jacob

Stephen Jacob was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts on December 7, 1755, the son of Richard and Thankful Jacob.{{sfn|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College|pages=39–40}} He was raised in Sheffield and served in the militia during the American Revolutionary War, including participation in the Battles of Saratoga.{{sfn|Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War|page=693}} He attended Dartmouth College,{{sfn|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College|pages=39–40}} graduated from Yale University in 1778,{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} and then relocated to Vermont.{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} He first attracted public notice in August 1778, when he read a poem he had composed at a ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of the Battle of Bennington.{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}}

Jacob studied law with Theodore Sedgwick,{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} settled in Windsor, Vermont in 1780,{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} and attained admission to the bar.{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} He continued his Revolutionary War militia service, and served in the company commanded by Captain John Mercy during a three-day mobilization in March 1781.{{sfn|Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783|page=352}} The militia in eastern Vermont had been called out by General Jacob Bayley of Newbury in response to a report of British troops from Canada operating in the Newbury area, but the report proved unfounded.{{sfn|Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783|page=352}}

Jacob practiced law in Vermont, and became active in politics and government, including service as town meeting moderator,{{sfn|History of Windsor County, Vermont|page=296}} selectman,{{sfn|History of Windsor County, Vermont|page=296}} lister,{{sfn|History of Windsor County, Vermont|page=297}} and justice of the peace.{{sfn|Records of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council of the State of Vermont|page=161}} Among the other offices he held were: member of the Vermont House of Representatives (1781, 1788, 1794);{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} Clerk of the House (1788, 1789);{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} member of the Council of Censors (1785){{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} (The Council of Censors met every seven years to review actions of the governor and executive council and the legislature to ensure their constitutionality); and State's Attorney of Windsor County (1781–1796).{{sfn|History of Windsor County, Vermont|p=100}}{{sfn|"Stephen Jacob: Twentieth Judge of the Vermont Supreme Court"|pages=3, 7}}

In 1786, an anti-tax protest took place in Windsor, inspired in large part by Shays' Rebellion;{{sfn|History of Windsor County, Vermont|pp=368–369}} As state's attorney, Jacob worked with Sheriff Benjamin Wait to mobilize 70 members of the local militia, who forced the protesters to end their demonstration and return to their homes.{{sfn|History of Windsor County, Vermont|pp=368–369}}

In 1789 Vermont and New York created a commission to settle their longstanding dispute over land titles in preparation for Vermont's admission to the Union as the 14th state, and Jacob served as one of the commissioners.{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} When Vermont was admitted to the Union in 1791, Jacob identified with the Federalist Party,{{sfn|Vermont: The Green Mountain State|page=74}} and was appointed the first United States Attorney for the District of Vermont;{{sfn|Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States|page=1827}} he served until 1794, when he was succeeded by Amos Marsh.{{sfn|Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States|page=161}} Jacob was a delegate to the 1793 state constitutional convention,{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} and chief judge of the Windsor County court in 1791, and from 1797 to 1801.{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} He was a member of the Governor's Council from 1796 to 1802,{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} a trustee of Middlebury College from 1800 to 1810, and a Dartmouth College trustee from 1802 until his death.{{sfn|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College|pages=39–40}} He served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1801 to 1802.{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}}

During Vermont's early history a small number of African American individuals seem to have been illegally bought and sold by some of its white settlers.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}}{{sfn|"Vermont's 1777 slavery ban had a complicated reality"}} Despite Vermont's constitutional prohibition against involuntary servitude, these individuals appear to have been de facto slaves.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} In 1783, Jacob purchased from Jotham White of Charlestown, New Hampshire a black woman named Dinah, who was about 30 years old.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} In 1801, the selectmen of Windsor sued Jacob, claiming that Dinah (sometimes called Dinah Mason or Dinah White in recent years){{sfn|"The Stephen Jacob House"}} was too sick to work.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} She then fell under the care of the selectmen in their capacity as overseers of the poor, and they took Jacob to court in an effort to recover the public money they had spent on her care.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}}

Jacob presided over the trial, which was held in the Windsor County Court.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} His lawyers argued that the case should be dismissed because the court summons he had been served was presented by a deputy sheriff, who could be considered a plaintiff, and plaintiffs were legally prohibited from carrying out such activities.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} The other judges on the court, Assistant Judges Elijah Robinson and Jesse Williams, found in his favor and awarded him court costs.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}}

The town of Windsor then appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court; Jacob was a Justice at the time, and recused himself from hearing the case.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} The attorneys for the town presented a copy of Jacob's 1783 bill of sale and receipt for the transaction involving Dinah, and argued that she was a de facto slave, which made Jacob liable for her support.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} Jacob's attorneys argued that since slavery was illegal in Vermont, Jacob could not be considered Dinah's owner, and was therefore not responsible to support her.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} In addition, his attorneys argued that certain residents of Windsor had in fact hired Dinah away from Jacob's household, and that she had worked for them after having worked for Jacob, which made them liable for Dinah's support.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} The court ruled that the bill of sale was not admissible as evidence because slavery violated the state constitution; as a result, Dinah was considered not to have been a slave, and Jacob not to have been her master, so he was not liable for her support.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} The judges again awarded Jacob court costs.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}} Dinah died in 1809.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|pages=80–88}}

Jacob continued to practice law in Windsor until his death there on January 27, 1817.{{sfn|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College|pages=39–40}}{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} (Some sources including his gravestone incorrectly indicate 1816.){{sfn|"A Memorial Sketch of Stephen Jacob"|page=88}} He was buried at Old South Church Cemetery in Windsor.{{sfn|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"|page=82}}

In 1779, Jacob married Pamela Farrand;{{sfn|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College|pages=39–40}}{{sfn|Men of Vermont Illustrated|page=178}} they were the parents of:

• Laura L. (1780–1826){{sfn|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891|pages=99–100}}
• Harriet Pamela (1781–1857), the wife of Samuel W. Fitch{{sfn|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891|pages=99–100}}
• Richard Henry (1784–1791){{sfn|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891|pages=99–100}}
• Maria (1791–1821), the wife of Army Surgeon Walter V. Wheaton{{sfn|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891|pages=99–100}}
• Frances (1794–1797){{sfn|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891|pages=99–100}}
• Daniel Farrand (1802–1802){{sfn|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891|pages=99–100}}

Daniel Farrand, who also served on the Vermont Supreme Court, was Jacob's brother-in-law.{{sfn|"The Supreme Court of Vermont, Part III"|page=78}}

Jacob received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Yale University in 1788, and an honorary Master of Arts from Dartmouth College in 1803.{{sfn|Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates, 1701-1915|page=83}}

Jacob's Windsor home, called the Stephen Jacob House, is owned by Historic Windsor, Inc./Preservation Education Institute.{{sfn|"The Stephen Jacob House"}} It has been the subject of preservation efforts since 2008.{{sfn|"The Stephen Jacob House"}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Lewis Cass |last2=Holmes |first2=Frank R. |date=1891 |title=History of Windsor County, Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_2JtQAAAAYAAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_2JtQAAAAYAAJ/page/n317 296] |location=Syracuse, NY |publisher=D. Mason & Co. |ref={{sfnRef|History of Windsor County, Vermont}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Crockett |first=Walter Hill |date=1923 |title=Vermont: The Green Mountain State |volume=Five |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9W0jAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA74 |location=New York, NY |publisher=The century History Company |ref={{sfnRef|Vermont: The Green Mountain State}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Dexter |first=Samuel Bowditch |date=1907 |title=Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College |volume=IV |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqpGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA39 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |ref={{sfnRef|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Gales |first=Joseph |date=1834 |title=Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States |url=https://archive.org/details/debatesandproce04galegoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/debatesandproce04galegoog/page/n263 1647] |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Gales and Seaton |ref={{sfnRef|Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Goodrich |first=John E. |date=1904 |title=Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924032738605 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924032738605/page/n379 352] |location=Rutland, VT |publisher=The Tuttle Company |ref={{sfnRef|Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783}}}}
• {{cite book |author=Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth |date=1901 |title=Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War |volume=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-sQAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA693 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Wright & Porter |ref={{sfnRef|Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Ullery |first=Jacob G. |date=1894 |title=Men of Vermont Illustrated |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Nvg_AAAAYAAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Nvg_AAAAYAAJ/page/n175 178] |location=Brattleboro, VT |publisher=Transcript Publishing Company |ref={{sfnRef|Men of Vermont Illustrated}}}}
• {{cite book |last=United States Senate |date=1828 |title=Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpJNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA161 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Duff Green |ref={{sfnRef|Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Vermont Bar Association |date=1892 |title=Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891 |volume=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99o8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA99 |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Argus and Patriot Job and Book Printing |ref={{sfnRef|Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 1891}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Walton |first=E. P. |date=1875 |title=Records of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council of the State of Vermont |volume=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NsNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA161 |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=J. & J. M. Poland |ref={{sfnRef|Records of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council of the State of Vermont}}}}
• {{cite book |author=Yale University |date=1916 |title=Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates, 1701-1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RGkNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA83 |location=New Haven, CT |publisher=The Wilson H. Lee Company |ref={{sfnRef|Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates, 1701-1915}}}}

• {{cite magazine |last=Taft |first=Russell S. |date=October 20, 1891 |title=A Memorial Sketch of Stephen Jacob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99o8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA86 |magazine=Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, Volume 3 |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Argus and Patriot Job and Book Printing |ref={{sfnRef|"A Memorial Sketch of Stephen Jacob"}}}}
• {{cite magazine |last=Taft |first=Russell S. |date=January 1, 1894 |title=The Supreme Court of Vermont, Part III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zA6SAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA78 |magazine=The Green Bag |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Boston Book Company |ref={{sfnRef|"The Supreme Court of Vermont, Part III"}}}}
• {{cite magazine |last=Wardner |first=H. S. |date=May 1, 1914 |title=Judge Jacob and his Dinah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5o6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA80 |magazine=The Vermonter |location=White River Junction, VT |publisher=Chas. R. Cummings |ref={{sfnRef|"Judge Jacob and his Dinah"}}}}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.preservationworks.org/pdf/Jacob_House.pdf |title=The Stephen Jacob House |last=Cox |first=Heather |date=July 1, 2009 |website=preservationworks.org/ |publisher=Historic Windsor, Inc./Preservation Education Institute |location=Windsor, VT |ref={{sfnRef|"The Stephen Jacob House"}}}}

• {{cite news |last=Taft |first=Russell S. |author-link=Russell S. Taft |date=January 16, 1892 |title=Stephen Jacob: Twentieth Judge of the Vermont Supreme Court |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/vermont-journal-jacob/131866075/ |work=Vermont Journal |location=Windsor, VT |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Stephen Jacob: Twentieth Judge of the Vermont Supreme Court"}}}}
• {{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Tim |date=April 2, 2014 |title=Vermont's 1777 slavery ban had a complicated reality |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/02/vermont-slavery-ban/7200493/ |work=USA Today |location=McLean, VA |ref={{sfnRef|"Vermont's 1777 slavery ban had a complicated reality"}}}}

• {{cite magazine |last=Jacob |first=Stephen |date=1870 |title=A Poetical Essay, Delivered at Bennington, on the Anniversary of the 16th of August 1777, By Stephen Jacob, 1778 |url=https://brittlebooks.library.illinois.edu/brittlebooks_open/Books2010-07/vermhi0001collec/vermhi0001collecv00001/vermhi0001collecv00001.pdf |magazine=Collections of the Vermont Historical Society |volume=I |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Vermont Historical Society |page=34}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, Stephen}}

Category:1750s births

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Category:People from Sheffield, Massachusetts

Category:People from Windsor, Vermont

Category:Yale University alumni

Category:U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law

Category:People from pre-statehood Vermont

Category:People of Vermont in the American Revolution

Category:Vermont lawyers

Category:Vermont Federalists

Category:State's attorneys in Vermont

Category:Members of the Vermont House of Representatives

Category:Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court

Category:19th-century American lawyers