Daniel Buck

Daniel Buck (November 9, 1753 – August 16, 1816) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Representative from Vermont. A member of the Federalist Party, he held numerous legal and legislative offices in Vermont during the formative years of both the state and the federal Union, and his single term in Congress occurred during a significant period in early American history.

Buck was born on November 9, 1753, in Hebron, Connecticut, the son of Thomas and Jane Buck. Little is recorded about his early childhood, but he came of age in New England on the eve of the American Revolution, an environment that shaped his later commitment to public service and the law.

During the American Revolutionary War, Buck served as a soldier and rose to the rank of sergeant in Captain David Wheeler’s company in the Massachusetts militia regiment commanded by Colonel Benjamin Simonds. He saw active combat and was severely wounded at the Battle of Bennington in 1777, where he lost an arm. In recognition of his sacrifice, he received a pension from the state of Massachusetts. After the war, he turned to legal studies, reading law under the guidance of Sylvester Gilbert. He was admitted to the bar in 1783, marking the beginning of a long legal and political career in Vermont.

Buck commenced his law practice in Thetford, Vermont, where he quickly assumed public responsibilities. In 1783 he became state’s attorney of Orange County, serving in that capacity until 1785, and he also served as clerk of the Orange County court in 1783 and 1784. His work in county offices coincided with his early involvement in Vermont’s emerging state institutions. In 1784 he was assistant secretary of the Vermont House of Representatives, and in 1785 he served as secretary pro tempore of the Governor’s Council, participating in the administrative framework of the then-independent Vermont Republic.

In 1785 Buck moved to Norwich, Vermont, where he became the town’s first attorney. To support himself in the growing community, he also carried out local duties as town highway surveyor and pound keeper. He soon became active in statewide constitutional and political matters. In 1791 he was a delegate to the convention that ratified the United States Constitution on behalf of Vermont, an act that enabled Vermont’s admission to the Union as the fourteenth state. That same year he ran as the Federalist candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont’s 2nd congressional district, a seat he would later win in 1795. In 1792 he served on the Vermont Council of Censors, a body that met periodically to review the acts of the Vermont legislature and ensure their conformity with the state constitution.

Buck’s prominence in Vermont politics increased during the early 1790s. He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1793 and 1794 and was chosen Speaker of the House, presiding over the lower chamber during a critical period of institutional consolidation. At the same time, he served as Vermont Attorney General from 1793 to 1795, overseeing the state’s legal affairs and prosecutions. His combined legislative and executive legal roles made him one of the leading Federalist figures in Vermont.

As a member of the Federalist Party representing Vermont, Buck contributed to the legislative process during one term in the United States Congress. He was elected as a Federalist to the Fourth Congress and served as a United States Representative from March 4, 1795, to March 3, 1797. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as the young federal government under the Constitution was still defining its powers and policies. He was re-elected in 1796 but declined to take his seat, thereby limiting his congressional service to a single term, though he remained an influential figure in Vermont’s public life.

After leaving Congress, Buck continued his legal and public service career. In 1799 Dartmouth College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts, a recognition of his professional standing and contributions. He served as state’s attorney for Windsor County in 1802 and 1803, further extending his record as a public prosecutor in multiple Vermont counties. In 1805 he moved to Chelsea, Vermont, where he resumed the practice of law and again entered the Vermont House of Representatives, serving as a member in 1806 and 1807. Among the aspiring lawyers who studied under his supervision was William A. Palmer, who would later become governor of Vermont and a United States senator, reflecting Buck’s influence on the next generation of Vermont leaders.

Buck’s later years in Chelsea were marked by both continued professional activity and personal financial difficulty. While living there he was imprisoned for debt, a not uncommon fate in the early nineteenth century. He was granted a form of parole known as “freedom of the prison,” which allowed him to work outside confinement in order to earn money and satisfy his creditors. Despite these hardships, he remained engaged in his legal practice and community affairs.

In his personal life, Buck married Content Ashley of Norwich in 1786. The couple had eleven children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. His family continued his tradition of public service; his son Daniel Azro Ashley Buck later served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont in the Twentieth Congress, from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1829. Daniel Buck died in Chelsea, Vermont, on August 16, 1816. He was interred in the Old Chelsea Cemetery in Chelsea, leaving a legacy as a Revolutionary War veteran, lawyer, state official, and Federalist congressman who helped shape Vermont’s early political and legal institutions.