William Upham
Restored version of damaged original. Photo byMathew Brady, circa 1850. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
United States Senator fromVermont
In office March 4, 1843 – January 14, 1853
Preceded by	Samuel C. Crafts
Succeeded by	Samuel S. Phelps
Chairman of the VermontWhig State Central Committee
In office 1838–1841
Preceded by	Milton Brown
Succeeded by	Harry Bradley
Member of theVermont House of Representatives fromMontpelier
In office 1830–1831
Preceded by	Naum Kelton
Succeeded by	Azel Spaulding
In office 1827–1829
Preceded by	Arunah Waterman
Succeeded by	Naum Kelton
State's Attorney ofWashington County, Vermont
In office 1829–1830
Preceded by	Denison Smith
Succeeded by	Azel Spaulding
Personal details
Born	(1792-08-05)August 5, 1792 Leicester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 14, 1853(1853-01-14) (aged 60) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Political party	National Republican Anti-Masonic Whig
Spouse	Sarah Keyes (m. 1814–1853, his death)
Children	4
Education	University of Vermont (attended)
Profession	Attorney
Signature

William Upham (August 5, 1792 – January 14, 1853) was an American attorney and politician fromMontpelier, Vermont. He was most notable for his service as aUnited States senator fromVermont.

A native ofLeicester, Massachusetts, Upham was raised in Leicester and Montpelier, where his family moved in 1802. He was educated locally and worked on the family farm until he lost his right hand in an accident when he was fifteen. He then completed an academic course at Montpelier Academy and with local tutors in preparation tostudy law. He wasadmitted to the bar in 1811 and practiced in Montpelier. Upham was an advocate for reform causes including temperance and the abolition of slavery, and changed his party affiliation several times as the anti-slavery movement grew and coalesced, going from theNational Republicans to theAnti-Masonic Party to theWhigs in the 1830s. He was a leader of both the Anti-Masons and the Whigs, represented Montpelier in theVermont House of Representatives twice (1827–1829, 1830–1831), and served a term asState's Attorney ofWashington County (1829–1830).

In 1842, Upham was elected to the U.S. Senate. He was reelected in 1848 and served from March 4, 1843 until his death. As a senator, Upham opposed U.S. involvement in theMexican–American War and the extension of slavery. He became ill in late 1852, and died in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1853. He was believed to have contractedsmallpox and was assumed to be contagious. As a result, his funeral was held quickly, and he was buried atCongressional Cemetery in Washington rather than being returned to Vermont for burial.

William Upham was born inLeicester, Massachusetts, on August 5, 1792, a son of Samuel Upham and Martha "Patty" (Livermore) Upham.^[1] He moved with his family toMontpelier, Vermont, in 1802.^[2] Upham worked on his family's farm and attended the district schools until age 15, when he sustained an injury after catching his hand in acider mill; all the fingers of his right hand were crushed, resulting in the amputation of his whole hand, including the fingers and palm.^[2] Upham then followed an academic course with the intent of pursuing a professional career, and attended Montpelier Academy and classes with two private tutors.^[2] He attended theUniversity of Vermont, thenstudied law, first with Cyrus Ward, then withSamuel Prentiss.^[2][3] In 1835, the university awarded Upham thehonorary degree ofMaster of Arts.^[4]

Upham wasadmitted to the bar in 1811 and commenced practice in Montpelier in partnership withNicholas Baylies, which they maintained for several years, after which Upham practiced as the senior partner of his own firm.^[2] In addition to maintaining a successful practice, Upham also guided the efforts of several prospective lawyers who studied in his office, includingPeter T. Washburn.^[2]

Upham became active in politics as a member of theNational Republican Party^[5] and was an advocate for several reform causes including the abolition of slavery^[6] and thetemperance movement.^[7] He was a member of theVermont House of Representatives from 1827 to 1829 and wasState's Attorney forWashington County from 1829 to 1830.^[2] In 1830 he was again elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, and he served until 1831.^[2] In the early 1830s, Upham joined the newAnti-Masonic Party and he served as president of its 1832 Vermont state convention.^[8]

In 1834, Upham was the unsuccessfulWhig and Anti-Masonic nominee for theUnited States House of Representatives in Vermont's 5th District.^[9] The highest finishers were theDemocratic nominee,Isaac Fletcher and Upham.^[9] Because neither received a majority, a second election was held; Upham declined to continue as a candidate, and the election was won by Whig and Anti-MasonHenry Fisk Janes, who defeated Fletcher.^[10] In the mid 1830s, Upham served as chairman of Vermont's Whig Party.^[11] In 1838, he was again an unsuccessful candidate for Congress, losing to Isaac Fletcher.^[12] In 1840, he campaigned throughout the state forWhig presidential nomineeWilliam Henry Harrison, who was elected.^[2]

In 1842 Samuel Prentiss resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate in order to accept appointment as judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Vermont.^[13]Samuel C. Crafts was appointed to fill the vacancy, and served until the end of the term to which Prentiss had been elected, April 23, 1842, to March 3, 1843.^[2] Crafts was not a candidate for a full term, and Upham was the successfulWhig candidate for the seat.^[2] He was reelected in 1848 and served from March 4, 1843, until his death.^[14] While in the Senate, he was chairman of theCommittee on Agriculture (28th Congress) and theCommittee on Pensions (29th Congress).^[13]

As an opponent of slavery, Upham argued against U.S. involvement in theMexican–American War, and introduced resolutions calling for immediate withdrawal from Mexico or a quick conclusion to the war.^[2] He was an opponent of allowing slavery to extend beyond where it already existed, and voted against theFugitive Slave Act of 1850 and other details related to theCompromise of 1850.^[2] He was also a proponent of theWilmot Proviso, which would have prevented the U.S. from extending slavery into any territory acquired as a result of the Mexican War.^[2]

Upham died ofsmallpox inWashington, D.C., on January 14, 1853;^[15][16] because he was believed to be contagious, his funeral was held quickly, and his remains were not returned to Vermont. He was buried atCongressional Cemetery.^[17]

• "...Slavery is acrime against humanity and a sore evil in the body politic."^[18][19][20]

In 1814, Upham married Sarah Keyes; they were the parents of five children, four of whom lived to adulthood: William Keyes Upham (1817–1865), Charles Carroll Upham (1819–1868), Sarah Sumner (Upham) Langdon (1821–1888) and Mary Annette Upham (1825–1899), who died in theWindsor Hotel fire.^[14][21][22]

Upham was a descendant ofEdmund Rice, an English immigrant toMassachusetts Bay Colony, as follows:^[1]

• William Upham, son of

• Martha Livermore (1768–1832),^[23] daughter of
• James Livermore, Jr. (1743–1825), son of
• Elizabeth Rice (1713–1799), daughter of

• Elisha Rice (1679–1761), son of
• Thomas Rice (1626–1681), son of

• Edmund Rice (1594–1663)

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1790–1899)

• United States Congress."William Upham (id: U000025)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• William Upham atFind a Grave
• United States Congress (1853).Obituary Addresses on the Occasion of the Death of the Hon. William Upham, a Senator of the United States from the State of Vermont. Washington, DC: Congressional Globe Office – viaInternet Archive.

• 1792 births
• 1853 deaths
• People from Leicester, Massachusetts
• Politicians from Montpelier, Vermont
• Vermont National Republicans
• Anti-Masonic Party politicians from Vermont
• Vermont Whigs
• United States senators from Vermont
• Whig Party United States senators
• Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
• Vermont lawyers
• State's attorneys in Vermont
• American abolitionists
• Temperance activists from Vermont
• Burials at the Congressional Cemetery
• 19th-century American lawyers
• Deaths from smallpox in the United States
• 19th-century United States senators
• 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly

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• Use mdy dates from March 2012