Stephen Royce

Stephen Royce (August 12, 1787 – November 11, 1868) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as the 23rd Governor of Vermont from 1854 to 1856.

Stephen Royce
Portrait on display in Vermont State House
23rd Governor of Vermont
In office October 12, 1854 – October 10, 1856
Lieutenant	Ryland Fletcher
Preceded by	John S. Robinson
Succeeded by	Ryland Fletcher
Chief of Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1846–1852
Preceded by	Charles K. Williams
Succeeded by	Isaac F. Redfield
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
In office 1829–1846
Preceded by	Bates Turner
Succeeded by	Charles Davis
In office 1825–1826
Preceded by	Asa Aikens
Succeeded by	Bates Turner
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from St. Albans
In office 1822–1825
Preceded by	James Mason
Succeeded by	Benjamin Swift
State's Attorney of Franklin County, Vermont
In office 1816–1817
Preceded by	Ebenezer Marvin Jr.
Succeeded by	Israel P. Richardson
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Sheldon
In office 1815–1817
Preceded by	Chauncey Fitch
Succeeded by	Samuel Wead
Personal details
Born	August 12, 1787 Tinmouth, Republic of Vermont
Died	November 11, 1868 (aged 81) Berkshire, Vermont, U.S.
Resting place	East Berkshire Episcopal Cemetery, Berkshire, Vermont, U.S.
Political party	Whig Party (before 1854) Republican (from 1854)
Relations	Homer E. Royce (nephew)
Alma mater	Middlebury College
Profession	Attorney

Early life

Royce was born in Tinmouth in the Republic of Vermont on August 12, 1787, the son of Stephen Royce (1764-1833), a veteran of the American Revolution and War of 1812, and Minerva (Marvin) Royce, a daughter of Ebenezer Marvin, who served as a judge and member of Vermont's Council of Censors.[1] Royce grew up in Franklin and Berkshire and attended the local schools.[1][2] He attended school in Tinmouth and graduated from the Addison County Grammar School.[2] He began attendance at Middlebury College in 1804, where his classmates included Daniel Azro Ashley Buck and William Slade.[3] He taught school in Sheldon to earn his tuition, and he graduated from Middlebury in 1807.[2]

Start of career

After graduation, Royce began studying law in the office of his uncle, Ebenezer Marvin Jr.[1] He attained admission to the bar in 1809, and practiced in East Berkshire and Sheldon before moving to St. Albans.[1] Among the prospective attorneys who studied law under Royce was Charles Linsley.[4]

Royce was Franklin County State's Attorney from 1816 to 1818, and served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1815 to 1816 and 1822 to 1824.[5]

Career as judge

Royce was a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1825 to 1827, and again from 1829 to 1846.[1] In 1846 he became Vermont's Chief Justice and served until 1852.[6]

Governor

He was elected Governor of Vermont in 1854, as a Whig, the last Whig to hold the office. He was re-elected to a second one-year term as a Republican, serving from 1854 to 1856. He was the first Republican to attain the office after the party was founded in the mid-1850s,[7] ushering in more than a century of Republican domination in Vermont politics. Vermont elected only Republicans to the governorship until Democrat Philip Hoff won the office in 1962.[8]

Death

Royce died in Berkshire on November 11, 1868.[9] He was interred at East Berkshire Episcopal Cemetery in East Berkshire.[10]

Family life

He never married, but resided with his mother, at her request, whenever he was in his hometown.[11]

Royce was the uncle of Vermont Chief Justice and Congressman Homer E. Royce.[12]

References

1. Jones, Leonard A.; Reno, Conrad, eds. (1900). "Vermont: Stephen Royce, LL.D." The Judiciary and the Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century. Boston, MA: Century Memorial Publishing Co. pp. 17–19 – via Google Books.
2. Partridge, Henry Villiers (1905). A History of Norwich, Vermont. Dartmouth Press. p. 175. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
3. Nason, Henry B., ed. (1887). Biographical Record of the Officers and Graduates of the Rensselaer, 1824-1886. Troy, NY: William H. Young. p. 31 – via Google Books.
4. Ellingson, Barbara (1997). "Biographical Sketch, Charles Linsley" (PDF). Charles and Emmeline Linsley Papers, 1827-1892. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Historical Society. p. 1. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
5. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, edited by Rossiter Johnson and John Howard Brown, 1904, Rowland to Royce page
6. Ullery, Jacob G. (1894). Men of Vermont Illustrated. Brattleboro, VT: Transcript Publishing Company. pp. 91–92 – via Google Books.
7. "Stephen Royce". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
8. Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, edited by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, page 39
9. "Death of Judge Royce". Watchman & Journal. Montpelier, VT. November 18, 1868. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
10. History of Berkshire. Berkshire, VT: Berkshire Historical Society. 1994. p. 70 – via Google Books.
11. Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College, published by the college, 1917, page 10
12. History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, 1891, page 228

External links

• Stephen Royce at Find a Grave
• Stephen Royce at National Governors Association
• Ancestry.com