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Hoyt Henry Wheeler
Hoyt Henry Wheeler (August 30, 1833 – November 19, 1906) was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and later a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. Education and careerWheeler was born on August 30, 1833, in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, a son of John Wheeler and Roxana (Hall) Wheeler.[1] He was raised and educated in Chesterfield and Newfane, Vermont, including attendance at the Chesterfield Academy, where he later taught.[2] He also taught at schools in Dummerston, Vermont, Newfane, Townshend, Vermont and Westminster, Vermont.[2] Wheeler began to study law while teaching, and learned under the tutelage of attorneys Charles K. Field, Jonathan Dorr Bradley and George Bradley Kellogg.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1859, and practiced in Jamaica from 1859 to 1867, first in partnership with John E. Butler, then as senior partner with Lavant M. Reed.[1] A Republican, he was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1867.[1] He was a member of the Vermont Senate from 1868 to 1869.[1] He was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1869 to 1877, succeeding Justice John Prout.[1][3] Federal judicial serviceWheeler was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on March 15, 1877, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge David Allen Smalley.[1] According to contemporary accounts, Wheeler had not sought the appointment,[2] but received it because he had made a favorable impression on Hayes when Hayes visited Newfane.[4] (Hayes's family was originally from nearby Dummerston.[5]) He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 16, 1877, and received his commission the same day.[6] He retired in October 1906, following the confirmation of James Loren Martin as his successor.[7][8] Death and burialWheeler died in Brattleboro on November 19, 1906.[9] He was buried at Morningside Cemetery in Brattleboro.[9] FamilyIn 1861, Wheeler married Minnie L. Maclay of Lockport, New York.[1] They had no children, but raised as their own a nephew, John Knowlton, the son of Mrs. Wheeler's sister Elizabeth and her husband Benjamin L. Knowlton.[1] HonorsIn 1886, Wheeler received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Vermont.[10] References
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