Rollin Carolas Mallary

Background

Rollin Carolas Mallary was born on May 27, 1784 in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was the eldest of seven children of Daniel and Martha (Dutton) Mallary.

Education

In 1795, Mallary moved with his father to Poultney, Vermont, from which place he entered Middlebury College, graduating in 1805.

He studied law with Horatio Seymour at Middlebury and with Robert Temple at Rutland, and, after serving one year (1806 - 07) as preceptor of Castleton Seminary, was admitted to the bar of Rutland County in March 1807.

Career

Mallary practised law with conspicuous success in Castleton until 1818, when he transferred his office to Poultney. While in Castleton he was state's attorney in the years 1810-13 and 1815-16. He was appointed in October 1807 as secretary to the governor and council and held the position intermittently in 1807, 1809-12, and 1815-19.

In 1819, Mallary was a candidate for Congress against Orsamus C. Merrill, of Bennington, the incumbent. Merrill was declared elected, but Mallary claimed the seat, and the House, after a hearing, decided in his favor, January 13, 1820. He won some distinction as an opponent of the admission of Missouri with slavery, and later became a conspicuous champion of the protective system.

At the opening of the Twentieth Congress, he was made chairman of the House committee on manufacture and reported the notorious "Tariff of Abominations" in 1828. He was the leader of the debate in the House on this measure and his pertinacity was largely responsible for its passage.

At a notable dinner given in his honor at Rutland, on July 6, 1830, he was enthusiastically lauded for his efforts in behalf of the protective system. He was reelected for six successive terms. Because of overwork, his health failed during the winter of 1830-31 and, after the adjournment of Congress, he was removed to the home of a relative in Baltimore, where he died.

Funeral services were held in Baltimore, but he was buried in the old cemetery at East Poultney, Vermont, where a marble monument to his memory was erected by the Rutland County Bar.

Achievements

• Mallary was a trustee of Middlebury College from 1825 until his death. His chief distinction was his advocacy of the protective tariff.

Works

More photos

• book

  • An Address, Delivered Before the Association of the Alumni of Middlebury College: On the Evening of Commencement, August 18, 1824.

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

Personality

Mallary was a very effective business member of Congress, mild in manner and unspectacular, but punctual and industrious.

Connections

Mallary had married, on October 29, 1806, Ruth Stanley, eldest daughter of John Stanley, by whom he had three children.

Father:

Daniel Mallary

Mother:

Martha (Dutton) Mallary

Wife:

Ruth Stanley Mallary

1786 - 19 August 1838

Daughter:

Caroline Stanley Mallary

19 August 1810 - 28 February 1820

Son:

George Henry Mallary

1813 - 1901

Son:

Carolus Rollin Mallary

Died on 11 September 1845.