Gideon Olin

Gideon Olin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Vermont's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1807
Preceded byIsrael Smith
Succeeded byJames Witherell
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office
1780-1793
1799
Personal details
Born(1743-11-02)November 2, 1743
East Greenwich, Rhode Island Colony, British America
DiedJanuary 21, 1823(1823-01-21) (aged 79)
Shaftsbury, Vermont, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Spouse(s)Lydia Myers Pope Olin and Patience Dwinnell Olin
ChildrenBenjamin Olin, Esther Olin, Nathaniel Green Olin, Abram Baldwin Olin and Job S. Olin
Professionfarmer, congressman

Gideon Olin (November 2, 1743 – January 21, 1823) was an American politician. He served as a United States representative from Vermont.

Biography

Olin was born in East Greenwich in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to John and Susannah Pierce Olin. He received limited schooling and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He moved to Vermont and settled in Shaftsbury in 1776, becoming one of the founders of Vermont.

Olin was a delegate to the Windsor Convention in 1777, which enacted the constitution that formed the Vermont Republic. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1778, 1780 to 1793, and in 1799, serving as Speaker from 1788 to 1793.[1]

During the American Revolutionary War, Olin was appointed Major in the Second Regiment under Colonels Samuel Herrick and Ebenezer Walbridge, and served on the frontier.[2] After the war, he served as an assistant judge of the Bennington County Court from 1781 to 1798. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1791 and 1793, and a member of the Governor’s council from 1793 to 1798.[3]

Olin was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth and Ninth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1807.[4] He served as chief justice of the Bennington county court from 1807 to 1811,[5] and was a founder of the University of Vermont.[6] After leaving office, he resumed agricultural pursuits.

Family life

Olin married Patience Dwinnell on December 13, 1768. He later married Lydia Myers Pope and they had five children.

Olin was the uncle of Henry Olin. Both Abram Baldwin Olin[7] and Henry Olin[8] served as United States Representatives in the 19th century.

Death

Olin died in Shaftsbury, Vermont on January 21, 1823, and is interred at Center Shaftsbury Cemetery in Shaftsbury, Vermont.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Speakers of the House". Vermont Office of the Secretary of the State. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "Biographical Note on Gideon OLIN (father of John H.)". Vermont Historical Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  3. ^ "OLIN, Gideon, (1743 - 1823)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  4. ^ "Rep. Gideon Olin". govtrack.us. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  5. ^ "Biography of Gideon Olin". History50States.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  6. ^ Johnson, Rossiter (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Biographical Society.
  7. ^ "OLIN, Abram Baldwin, (1808 - 1879)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  8. ^ "OLIN, Henry, (1768 - 1837)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  9. ^ "Olin, Gideon (1743–1823)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Vermont's 1st congressional district
1803-1807 		Succeeded by