Biography
Chittenden was born in Salisbury, Connecticut to Thomas Chittenden and Elizabeth Meigs Chittenden. He moved to Vermont in 1776 in the wake of the founding of the town of Williston by his father Thomas Chittenden. Martin Chittenden attended Mares School and in 1789 graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
After graduating from Dartmouth College, Chittenden moved to Jericho, Vermont and was involved in agricultural and mercantile pursuits. He was appointed Justice of the Peace in October 1789, and in 1791 he served as a delegate to the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution. He served as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant Governor Peter Olcott in 1790, and from 1790 until 1793 he served as clerk of the county court of Chittenden County, Vermont.
Chittenden served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1790 until 1796. He was judge of the Chittenden County Court from 1793 until 1795, and served as Chief Justice of the Chittenden County Court from 1796 until 1813. He was the first census collector for Chittenden County.
Militarily, he was captain of the First Militia in Jericho in 1793, lieutenant colonel of the First Regiment in 1794, brigadier general in 1799 and major general from 1799 until 1803.
Chittenden was elected as a Federalist Party (United States) candidate to the Eighth Congress and was reelected to the Ninth Congress, Tenth Congress, Eleventh Congress and Twelfth Congress, serving from March 4, 1803 until March 3, 1813.
He was elected Governor of Vermont in 1813, replacing his brother-in-law, Jonas Galusha, who was also his successor in the post. Chittenden served as Governor from October 23, 1813 until October 14, 1815. He was the last Federalist governor of Vermont. During his term as governor, fighting between American and British forces was fierce on the current United States–Canada border. In November 1813, conscious of the British encroachment on Plattsburgh, New York, members of the Vermont militia asked Chittenden to let them intervene. Chittenden declined, though the militia leaders claimed that this was the result of pressure from his advisers.
After his retirement from elected office, Chittenden served as town representative of Williston and as a probate judge from 1821 until 1823.
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