John C. Sherburne

John Calvin Sherburne[1] was born in Pomfret, Vermont on August 31, 1883, the son of John C. and Cynthia E. (Giddlings) Sherburne.[2] The elder John C. Sherburne held several local offices in Pomfret, and served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.[2]

The younger John Sherburne was educated in Pomfret, and graduated from Woodstock High School.[2] He then attended the University of Vermont, from which he graduated in 1904.[2] Sherburne was a member of Delta Psi and Phi Beta Kappa.[3] From 1904 to 1907 he studied at Wadham College of Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, the first Vermonter to attain this distinction.[2][4]

During the summer breaks from his university courses, Sherburne studied law in the Bethel office of Hunton and Stickney.[5] Upon returning to the United States, he settled in Randolph, where he was admitted to the bar and began a practice.[2]

In addition to practicing law, Sherburne was a referee in bankruptcy from 1908 to 1916.[2] A Republican in politics, from 1917 to 1921 he was State's Attorney of Orange County.[2] In 1920, he was elected to the Vermont Senate, and he served one term.[2] From January 1923 to April 1926, he was Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) during the governorships of Redfield Proctor Jr. and Franklin S. Billings.[2]

In April, 1926, Sherburne was appointed a judge of the Vermont Superior Court.[2] In 1934, he was appointed an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by the death of Warner A. Graham.[6] He was appointed Chief Justice in 1949, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Sherman R. Moulton,[7] and was succeeded as an Associate Justice by Samuel H. Blackmer.[7] Sherburne served as Chief Justice until retiring in 1955, and was succeeded by Olin M. Jeffords.[8]

In 1919, Sherburne received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Vermont.[9]

Sherburne died at his home in Randolph on June 30, 1959, as the result of injuries he sustained after a fall down the stairs while moving a suitcase in preparation for a trip to visit his sister in Connecticut.[10][11] He was buried at South View Cemetery in Randolph.[12]

On May 1, 1913, Sherburne married Alice Charlotte McIntyre (1885-1962).[2][12][13] They were the parents of two children, son Henry M. and daughter Frances E.[2][10]

• John C. Sherburne at The Political Graveyard