Clarence H. Pitkin


Clarence Horatio Pitkin was a Vermont attorney and businessman. He served for two years as United States attorney for the District of Vermont.

Early life

Clarence Horatio Pitkin was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on August 26, 1849, the son of Perley P. Pitkin and Caroline Matilda Pitkin. Pikin's father was a prominent Montpelier businessman and banker, served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War, and later attained the rank of brigadier general as quartermaster of the Vermont Militia. Clarence Pitkin was educated in Montpelier, and attended Amherst College. Deciding on a legal career, he studied law with Benjamin F. Fifield of Montpelier, and attained admission to the bar in 1872.

Start of career

Pitkin practiced in Montpelier as the partner of Fifield and Charles W. Porter, and continued with Pitkin after Fifield's retirement. Pitkin later practiced in partnership with Hiram A. Huse, who had studied law in his office. Among the other prospective attorneys who studied under Pitkin was John H. Senter.
A Republican, from 1880 to 1882, Pitkin served as State's Attorney of Washington County. In 1881, he was one of the commissioners appointed to revise the state statutes.
In 1887, Pitkin succeeded Kittredge Haskins as United States attorney for the District of Vermont. He served until 1890, and was succeeded by Frank Plumley.

Later career

The Pitkin family's business interests included the Lane Manufacturing Company, of which Perley P. Pitkin became president in 1888. As the company expanded, it required more involvement from the family members involved in its management, including Clarence Pitkin. He became the company's secretary, and soon after resigning as U.S. attorney he gave up the practice of law to devote his full attention to Lane Manufacturing.

Death and burial

Pitkin continued to serve as secretary of Lane Manufacturing, and resided on a farm near Montpelier Junction in the town of Berlin. His health began to decline in early 1901, and he died at his Montpelier Junction home on May 31, 1901. Pitkin was buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.

Family

In 1884, Pitkin married Catherine Lamora . They were the parents of a son, Harold. Harold Pitkin died of tuberculosis, and Clarence Pitkin's obituaries indicated that his son's death contributed to his own declining health.