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Mellen Chamberlain
Gender:
Male
Born:
June 17, 1796
Died:
May 14, 1839
Home Town:
Peacham, VT
Later Residences:
Bellefonte, PA
Montpelier, VT
Castine, ME
Pittsburgh, PA
Montpelier, VT
Castine, ME
Pittsburgh, PA
Marriage(s):
Catherine Crosby Chamberlain (unknown)
Biographical Notes:
Mellen Chamberlain was the son of Governor William and Jane (Eastman) Chamberlain. He entered Dartmouth Medical School but never completed his medical degree. He graduated from college in 1816. After attending Litchfield Law School, Chamberlain taught briefly at Bellefonte, PA and read law with Judge Samuel Prentiss at Montpelier, VT. Chamberlain worked briefly as a lawyer in Castine, ME before going into business in Pittsburgh, PA. Chamberlain died during a trip to Europe, drowning in the Danube River.
Education
Years at LLS:
1819
Other Education:
Entered Dartmouth Medical School in 1814, but did not finish his degree. He later graduated from Dartmouth College in 1816.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Educator; Lawyer; Business
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School (Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849), 16.
Secondary Sources:
Hemenway, Abby Maria. VT Hist. Gazetteer. Burlington, VT: Published by the Author, 1867.
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