Lewis Samuel Partridge

Lewis Samuel Partridge (March 10, 1818 – May 22, 1886) was a Vermont political and military figure who served as Vermont's United States Marshal and as Adjutant General of the Vermont Militia.

Lewis S. Partridge, Vermont Adjutant General and U.S. Marshal

Early life and business career

Lewis S. Partridge was born in Norwich, Vermont on March 10, 1818.[1] The son of Abel Partridge and Alpa (Lewis) Partridge, he was also the nephew of Norwich University founder Alden Partridge.[2]

Lewis Partridge was educated in Norwich and worked as a store clerk in Norwich and Claremont, New Hampshire. In 1833 he was appointed Norwich's Postmaster, and he graduated from Norwich University in 1838. Partridge's business career prospered, and he became the proprietor of a store in Norwich as well as Norwich's Union Hotel.[3]

As a direct link to Alden Partridge, for many years Lewis Partridge was accorded the honor of serving as marshal of Norwich University's annual commencement exercises.[4]

Political and military career

Partridge was active in Vermont's Democratic Party, even as Vermont became a solid Whig and then Republican state. He served in local offices including Justice of the Peace, and was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1852 to 1853.[5][6]

Partridge was a member of the Vermont Militia for several years. In the 1840s he held the rank of captain as commander of the 23rd Regiment's Light Infantry Company.[7] From 1852 to 1854 Partridge served as Adjutant General of the Vermont militia.[8] From 1855 to 1857 he again served as town Postmaster.[9]

A supporter of James Buchanan for President in 1856, Partridge was rewarded with appointment as U.S. Marshal for the District of Vermont; he succeeded Charles Chapin, and served from 1857 to 1861.[10] In 1861 he was again appointed Postmaster of Norwich.[11]

Civil War

During the American Civil War Partridge was arrested for alleged Confederate sympathies. In July, 1862 his successor as Marshal, Charles C. P. Baldwin, detained Partridge and others, and charged them with treason. They were accused of protesting by cutting down an American flag at a recruiting office and then using pistols to prevent soldiers from raising it again. Partridge initially traveled to Canada to escape arrest, but later appeared in Burlington to answer the charge and post bail. In 1864 he stood trial for obstructing the draft, and was acquitted.[12][13][14]

Partridge was also a Delegate to the 1864 Democratic National Convention.[15]

Later life

Partridge remained active in politics. In 1870 he was an unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives, losing to Republican Luke P. Poland.[16]

He attended Democratic meetings in 1872 to argue against a coalition with Liberal Republicans.[17]

In 1884 he served as President of Vermont's Cleveland and Hendricks Club, and when Cleveland took office in 1885 Partridge was again appointed Norwich's Postmaster.[18][19]

Death and burial

Lewis Partridge died in Norwich on May 22, 1886.[20] He is buried in Norwich's Fairview Cemetery.[21]

Family

On June 16, 1846 Lewis Partridge married Harriet Baxter of Norwich. They had three children: Lewis, Lizzie, and Harriet Louise.[22]

Harriet Baxter Partridge died on August 25, 1854, and on May 27, 1856 Partridge married Elizabeth Woodruff of Tinmouth. They had eight children: Edward, Alliston, Charles, Robert, Marion, Mary, Martha, and William.[23]

References
  1. "Lewis Samuel Partridge". Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  2. William Arba Ellis, Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor, 1911, Volume 2, pages 292-293
  3. Henry Villiers Partridge, A History of Norwich, Vermont, 1905, page 235
  4. William Arba Ellis, Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor, 1911, Volume 1, pages 130-131
  5. Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the House of the State of Vermont, 1877, page 596
  6. Leonard Deming, Catalogue of the Principal Officers of Vermont, 1851, page 206
  7. Vermont House of Representatives (1841). Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Vermont. Montpelier, VT: E. P. Walton. p. 445.
  8. Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the Vermont General Assembly, 1854, page 452
  9. J. H. Colton and Company (New York), Post Office Directory, 1857, page 178
  10. Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1892, page 64
  11. William Arba Ellis, Norwich University, Volume 2, page 293
  12. New York Times, The Case of Marshal Partridge, July 29, 1862
  13. New York Daily Tribune, The Case of Ex-Marshal Partridge, July 29, 1862
  14. Thomas D. Seymour Bassett, The Growing Edge: Vermont Villages, 1840-1880, 1992, page 142
  15. Chicago Times, printers, Official Proceedings, 1864 Democratic National Convention, 1864, page 13
  16. Horace Greeley, editor, The Tribune Almanac and Political Register, 1871, page 69
  17. Walter Hill Crockett, Vermont: The Green Mountain State, Volume 4, 1921, page 50
  18. Vermont Journal, Norwich News, August 2, 1884, via transcription by Ruth Barton at Ancestry.com
  19. Lewis Cass Aldrich, Frank R. Holmes, History of Windsor County, Vermont, 1891, page 493
  20. Albany Times, Death Notice, Lewis S. Partridge, May 24, 1886
  21. Lewis Samuel Partridge at Find a Grave, retrieved November 22, 2013
  22. Henry Villiers Partridge, A History of Norwich Vermont, page 235
  23. William Arba Ellis, Norwich University, Volume 2, page 293

Lewis Samuel Partridge at Find a Grave

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