Eben Pomeroy Colton (February 11, 1829 – September 10, 1895) was an American businessman and farmer who served as the 32nd lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880.
Personal background Born Ebenezer Pomeroy Colton and usually called E. Pomeroy Colton or E. P. Colton, he was born in West Fairlee, Vermont on February 11, 1829, the son of John and Phoebe (Morey) Colton. He moved to Irasburg with his family at age 14, and after completing his education was active in construction, carpentry, farming and lumbering.One Thousand Men, published by Vermont Historical Society, 1915, page 203A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Quartermaster George Colton, by George Woolworth Colton, 1912, page 368Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, Record for Eben Pomeroy Colton, accessed December 30, 2011Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865, Record for Ebenezer P. Colton, accessed December 30, 2011American Jersey Herd Book, Volume 7, arranged by O. D. Hadwen, Worcester, Mass., 1881, page 87
Political background Originally a Whig in politics, Colton became a Republican when that party was founded in the 1850s. He served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1859 to 1860 and in the Vermont Senate from 1870 to 1874. In 1876, he was again elected to the Vermont House.Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont, compiled by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, page 78Joint Rules, Rules and Orders of the Senate and House of Representatives, published by Vermont General Assembly, 1878, page 105
In 1878, Colton was elected Lieutenant Governor and served one term, 1878 to 1880.Newspaper article, The September Elections, New York Times, August 31, 1878Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 4, 1921, page 94The Geography, History, Constitution and Civil Government of Vermont, by Edward Conant and Mason Sereno Stone, 1915, page 321
Active in the Masons and other civic and fraternal organizations, Colton was the first Master of the Vermont Grange, serving from 1872 to 1877.History of the Grange in Vermont, Guy Bertram Horton, 1926, page 65Magazine article, The Grange in Vermont, published in The Vermonter magazine, March, 1907, page 68Journal of the Proceedings of the Seventh Session of the National Grange, published by S. W. Green, New York, 1874, page 9
Colton died in Irasburg on September 10, 1895.Transcript, Irasburg Cemetery , Irasburg, Vermont, Vermont Northeast Kingdom Genealogy, 2006Newspaper article, For Those Gone Before, North Adams Transcript, November 18, 1895
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