Dudley Chase

Dudley Chase (December 30, 1771 – February 23, 1846) was a U.S. Senator from Vermont who served from 1813 to 1817 and again from 1825 to 1831. He was born in Cornish, New Hampshire.^[1]

Dudley Chase
United States Senator from Vermont
In office March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1831
Preceded by	William A. Palmer
Succeeded by	Samuel Prentiss
In office March 4, 1813 – November 3, 1817
Preceded by	Stephen R. Bradley
Succeeded by	James Fisk
Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1817–1820
Preceded by	Richard Skinner
Succeeded by	Cornelius P. Van Ness
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1808–1813
Preceded by	Aaron Leland
Succeeded by	Daniel Chipman
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Randolph
In office 1823–1825
Preceded by	Shubael Converse
Succeeded by	Lebbeus Egerton
In office 1805–1813
Preceded by	James Tarbox
Succeeded by	James Tarbox
State's Attorney of Orange County, Vermont
In office 1803–1812
Preceded by	Charles Bulkley
Succeeded by	Elisha Hotchkiss
Personal details
Born	(1771-12-30)December 30, 1771 Cornish, New Hampshire
Died	February 23, 1846(1846-02-23) (aged 74) Randolph Center, Vermont, US
Party	Democratic-Republican, National Republican
Spouse	Olivia Brown (m. 1796)
Relations	Philander Chase (brother) Salmon P. Chase (nephew) Dudley Chase Denison (nephew)
Education	Dartmouth College
Profession	Attorney

Career

After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1791,^[2] he studied law under Lot Hall in Westminster, Vermont.^[3] In 1793, he was admitted to the Vermont bar.^[4]

Chase lived, farmed, and practiced law in Randolph, Vermont.^[5] He was Orange County State's Attorney from 1803 to 1812.^[6] He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1805 to 1812, serving as Speaker from 1808 to 1812.^[7] He was elected to the state constitutional conventions in 1814 and 1822.^[8]

Chase was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democratic-Republican in 1812 and served from 1813 to 1817, when he resigned.^[9] He was the first ever Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, serving from 1816 to 1817.^[10]

After resigning in 1817, he returned to Vermont, where he was chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court until 1821.^[11] He served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1823 to 1824.^[12]

He returned to national politics in 1825 when he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the U.S. Senate, serving until 1831.^[13]

Dudley Chase died in Randolph on February 23, 1846.^[14]

Family

Dudley Chase was the son of Dudley & Alice (Corbett) Chase, an uncle of Salmon P. Chase^[15] (Treasury Secretary, 1861–1864 and Chief Justice of the United States, 1864–1873) and Dudley Chase Denison^[16] (a U.S. Representative from Vermont). He was the brother of Philander Chase.^[17]

Home

Dudley Chase's Randolph Center home still stands and is a private residence.^[18]

Attempts to locate portrait

Chase is one of between 40 and 50 U.S. Senators for whom the Senate historian has no portrait, photograph, or other likeness on file.^[19] According to Randolph historian and Chase descendant Harriet M. Chase, no portrait of Dudley Chase was ever painted. Other efforts to locate a likeness of Dudley Chase have also proved unsuccessful.^[20]