Walter C. Dunton

Walter Chipman Dunton was born in Bristol, Vermont on November 29, 1830.[1] He was educated at Franklin Academy, and graduated from Middlebury College in 1857.[1] After graduation, Dunton studied law with the firm of Dillingham and Durant of Waterbury, and then with Linsley and Prout of Rutland.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1858, moved to Manhattan, Kansas Territory, and established a practice in Riley County, Kansas.[2] A Republican, Dunton served in the Territorial Legislature in 1861.[2]

In 1862, Dunton enlisted for the American Civil War, was commissioned as a captain in the Union Army, and was appointed commander of Company F, 14th Vermont Infantry.[2] Part of the 2nd Vermont Brigade, the 14th Vermont was a 10-month regiment, and was active from October 1862 to August 1863;[2] it took part in the defense of Washington, DC, and played a key role in breaking up Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg.[2]

After the war, Vermont Grand Army of the Republic Post 110 in Bristol was named in his honor.[3]

After leaving the Army, Dunton practiced law in Rutland as the partner of John Prout and Wheelock G. Veazey.[1] In 1865 he was elected probate judge of Rutland County, and he served until 1877.[1] In 1870 he was a delegate to the state constitutional convention.[2] Dunton served as a trustee of Middlebury College from 1870 to 1890.[2]

In April 1877, Dunton was appointed a Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, replacing Hoyt H. Wheeler, who resigned to become Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.[2] He served until 1879, when he resigned and returned to practicing law; he was succeeded on the court by his law partner Wheelock Veazey.[2]

Dunton served in the Vermont State Senate from 1880 to 1882, and served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.[2] He served as president of the Vermont Bar Association from 1880 to 1881, and from 1888 to 1889 he was a law professor at Iowa State University.[2] Dunton was also active in several businesses; in addition to serving as the attorney for Rutland's Baxter National Bank, he was also a member of the bank's board of directors.[4]

Dunton died in Rutland on April 23, 1890,[4] and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Rutland.[5]

In October 1862, Dunton married Miriam E. Barrett of Rutland.[2] They were the parents of one son and four daughters: Agnes Ellen; Edith Kellogg; Walter Barrett; Miriam Buttrick; and Mary.[2]