Silas Hemenway Jennison was an American Anti-Masonic and Whig politician who served as Vermont"s Lieutenant Governor and Governor.
Background
Jennison (Sometimes spelled Jenison) was born in Shoreham, Vermont to Levi Jennison and Ruth Hemenway. He helped his mother run the farm which his father had cleared and attended the local schools sporadically and had some private tutoring.
Career
He learned surveying which he pursued throughout his political career. He was elected the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Vermontin 1835. In the 1835 Governor"s race, no candidate received the majority required by the Vermont Constitution, so the choice fell to the Vermont General Assembly.
He was elected to a one-year term as Governor in his own right in 1836, and was reelected annually until 1840, so he served as Governor from 1835 to 1841.
Jennison was Vermont"s first native-born Governor. In 1837, the incumbent Vermont State Treasurer, Augustine Clarke, failed to receive the majority of votes required by the Vermont Constitution.
In such cases, the Vermont General Assembly is empowered to elect a candidate. Jennison, an Anti-Mason who had run with Whig support, then appointed Allen Wardner, an Anti-Mason.
Wardner served until 1838.
Jennison declined reelection in 1841. He was appointed Addison County probate Judge, and he served until 1847. Jennison was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1843.
The Addison County Agricultural Society was organized on January 22, 1844, and Jennison was the first president
Following a long illness, Jennison died in Shoreham on September 30, 1849. He is interred at Jenison Cemetery in Shoreham.
Membership
Jennison was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1829 to 1835. He was an Addison County Court Judge from and a member of the State Executive Council from 1829 to 1835.