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Carlos Baxter

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Carlos Baxter
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Burlington, Vermont
In office
1839–1841
Preceded byHarry Bradley
Succeeded byWilliam A. Griswold
ConstituencyBurlington, Vermont
Personal details
Born(1809-01-15)January 15, 1809
Brownington, Vermont, U.S.
DiedJanuary 28, 1874(1874-01-28) (aged 65)
Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyWhig
Republican
SpouseCornelia Deming
Children5
Parent
RelativesPortus Baxter (brother)
Jedediah Hyde Baxter (nephew)
Benjamin F. Deming (father-in-law)
Bradley Smalley (son-in-law)
EducationNorwich University
Union College (BA)

Carlos Baxter (January 15, 1809 – January 28, 1874) was an American politician who served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1839 to 1841, as a Whig. He served as a collector of internal revenue from 1862 to 1867.

Born in Brownington, Vermont, Baxter's father served in the state house and his brother, Portus Baxter, later served in the United States House of Representatives. He was educated at Norwich University and Union College. He practiced law in Burlington, Vermont, and had a business venture in Winooski, Vermont.

Active in state politics, Baxter was elected to the state house and later declined the Whig nomination in 1850. The Vermont Whigs elected him to their state committee in 1852, and he was an early member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

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Carlos Baxter was born in Brownington, Vermont, on January 15, 1809, to William Baxter and Lydia Ashley. His brother, Portus Baxter, was elected to the United States House of Representatives.[1][2] William was a state's attorney and member of the Vermont House of Representatives and left an estate worth $100,000 (equivalent to $2,779,118 in 2024) when he died in 1827.[3][4]

Baxter entered Norwich University in 1821, and graduated in 1825. Entering the University of Vermont in 1826, he left in his sophomore year to attend Union College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1830.[1][2] The University of Vermont gave him a honorary degree in 1847.[5]

Career

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On December 28, 1832, Baxter was admitted to the bar in Orleans County, Vermont, and later practiced law in Burlington, Vermont.[2][1] He was a part of a business venture that constructed woolen mills in Winooski, Vermont, in 1835.[6] In 1849, Baxter and 30 other men petitioned the state legislature to give them a charter for a railroad.[7][8] He had an income of $5,000 (equivalent to $107,375 in 2024) in 1866.[9]

At the 1836 Whig state convention Baxter was selected to serve as a secretary.[10] He was a member of the Whig town committee in Burlington in 1839,[11] and the state committee in 1852.[12] He represented Burlington in the state house from 1839 to 1841.[1][13] Henry Leavenworth was given the Whig nomination for state representative in 1850, but declined and it was instead given to Baxter, who also declined the nomination as he would be away from home for a few months; Leavenworth later accepted the nomination.[14]

Baxter was one of the early members of the Republican Party.[1] In the 1860 election, 130 votes in Fairfield, Vermont, were erroneously given to Baxter instead of his brother, who was running for Vermont's 3rd congressional district.[15] From 1862 to 1867, Baxter served as the collector of internal revenue for Vermont's 3rd congressional district.[16][1] During the 1872 presidential election he supported Liberal Republican nominee Horace Greeley.[1]

Personal life and death

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On May 15, 1833, Baxter married Cornelia Deming,[2] one of the daughters of Benjamin F. Deming,[1] and had five children before her death on May 25, 1843.[2] Baxter's daughter, Caroline, married Bradley Smalley.[1] The Winterbotham Estate was owned by Baxter from 1833 to 1867,[17] until he sold it to G.A. Austin for $15,000 (equivalent to $337,464 in 2024).[18]

Paralyzed by a disease in 1870, Baxter suffered "an attack of paralysis" on January 26, 1874, which left the right side of his body paralyzed and him unable to speak. He died in Burlington, at 8:25 P.M. EST on January 28, 1874.[19][1][20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rutland Herald 1874.
  2. ^ a b c d e Union College.
  3. ^ The Washingtonian 1803.
  4. ^ Baldwin 1886, p. 48.
  5. ^ St. Albans Messenger 1847.
  6. ^ Bushnell 2017.
  7. ^ The Burlington Free Press 1849.
  8. ^ St. Albans Messenger 1849.
  9. ^ Burlington Times 1866.
  10. ^ Vermont Chronicle 1836.
  11. ^ Burlington Weekly Free Press 1839.
  12. ^ Vermont Journal 1852.
  13. ^ Comstock 1918, p. 353.
  14. ^ The Burlington Free Press 1850.
  15. ^ Vermont Watchman 1860.
  16. ^ St. Albans Messenger 1862.
  17. ^ Champlain College 2019.
  18. ^ Burlington Weekly Sentinel 1867.
  19. ^ St. Albans Messenger 1874.
  20. ^ Baldwin 1886, p. 105.

Works cited

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Books

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  • Baldwin, Frederick (1886). Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont. Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press.
  • Comstock, John, ed. (1918). A List of the Principal Civil Officers of Vermont From 1777 to 1918. St. Albans Messenger.

News

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Web

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