Hoyt Henry Wheeler

Hoyt Henry Wheeler (August 30, 1833 – November 19, 1906) was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and later a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.

Hoyt Henry Wheeler
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
In office
March 16, 1877 – September 30, 1906
Appointed byRutherford B. Hayes
Preceded byDavid Allen Smalley
Succeeded byJames Loren Martin
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office
1869–1877
Preceded byJohn Prout
Succeeded byWalter C. Dunton
Member of the Vermont Senate from Windham County
In office
1868–1869
Serving with David Goodell
Preceded byDaniel Kellogg
Homer Goodhue
Succeeded byDavid Goodell
Vacant (After Hoyt's resignation)
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Jamaica
In office
1867–1868
Preceded byAbijah Muzzy
Succeeded byJoel Holton
Personal details
Born
Hoyt Henry Wheeler

(1833-08-30)August 30, 1833
Chesterfield, New Hampshire
DiedNovember 19, 1906(1906-11-19) (aged 73)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Resting placeMorningside Cemetery
Brattleboro, Vermont
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMinnie L. Maclay (m. 1861-1904, her death)
ProfessionAttorney

Education and career

Wheeler was born on August 30, 1833, in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, a son of John Wheeler and Roxana (Hall) Wheeler.[1] He was raised and educated in Chesterfield and Newfane, Vermont, including attendance at the Chesterfield Academy, where he later taught.[2] He also taught at schools in Dummerston, Vermont, Newfane, Townshend, Vermont and Westminster, Vermont.[2] Wheeler began to study law while teaching, and learned under the tutelage of attorneys Charles K. Field, Jonathan Dorr Bradley and George Bradley Kellogg.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1859, and practiced in Jamaica from 1859 to 1867, first in partnership with John E. Butler, then as senior partner with Lavant M. Reed.[1] A Republican, he was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1867.[1] He was a member of the Vermont Senate from 1868 to 1869.[1] He was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1869 to 1877, succeeding Justice John Prout.[1][3]

Federal judicial service

Wheeler was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on March 15, 1877, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge David Allen Smalley.[1] According to contemporary accounts, Wheeler had not sought the appointment,[2] but received it because he had made a favorable impression on Hayes when Hayes visited Newfane.[4] (Hayes's family was originally from nearby Dummerston.[5]) He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 16, 1877, and received his commission the same day.[6] He retired in October 1906, following the confirmation of James Loren Martin as his successor.[7][8]

Death and burial

Wheeler died in Brattleboro on November 19, 1906.[9] He was buried at Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro.[9]

Family

In 1861, Wheeler married Minnie L. Maclay of Lockport, New York.[1] They had no children, but raised as their own a nephew, John Knowlton, the son of Mrs. Wheeler's sister Elizabeth and her husband Benjamin L. Knowlton.[1]

Honors

In 1886, Wheeler received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Vermont.[10]

References
  1. Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont.
  2. Annals of Brattleboro.
  3. A Memorial Sketch of John Prout.
  4. "Judge H. H. Wheeler".
  5. The Life of Rutherford Birchard Hayes.
  6. "Nominations Confirmed: Hoyt H. Wheeler".
  7. "Judge Wheeler's Retirement".
  8. "Mr. Martin's Appointment".
  9. "Judge Wheeler's Funeral".
  10. "Personal: Honorary Degrees".

Sources

Books
  • Cabot, Mary Rogers (1921). Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895. Vol. 1. Brattleboro, VT: E. L. Hildreth & Company. pp. 961– – via Ancestry.com.
  • Carleton, Hiram (1903). Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont. Vol. I. New York, NY: Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 76–77. ISBN 9780806347943.
  • Harman, Henry A. (October 25, 1892). A Memorial Sketch of John Prout: Published in the Annual Meeting Proceedings of the Vermont Bar Association. Montpelier, VT: Argus and Patriot Book and Job Printing. pp. 63–67.
  • Williams, Charles Richard (1914). The Life of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Nineteenth President of the United States. Vol. I. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 6. ISBN 9781623761431.

Newspapers
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