Representative Henry Fisk Janes

Henry Fisk Janes (October 10, 1792 – June 6, 1879) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Vermont in the United States House of Representatives from 1834 to 1837. He was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, and moved with his parents at an early age to Calais, Vermont, where he pursued academic studies. Growing up in Vermont, he became identified with the civic and political life of the state that he would later serve in multiple capacities over several decades.

During the War of 1812, Janes served as an officer in Captain Gideon Wheelock’s company of the Vermont Militia. In this role he participated in the Battle of Plattsburgh, a decisive engagement that helped secure the northern frontier of the United States. His military service during this conflict marked his first significant contribution to public affairs and helped establish his standing in his community.

After the war, Janes studied law in Montpelier, Vermont, and was admitted to the bar. He began the practice of law in Waterbury, Vermont, where he would reside for much of his life. In addition to his legal practice, he entered public service at the local level, serving as postmaster of Waterbury from 1820 until 1830. His decade-long tenure as postmaster reflected the trust placed in him by federal authorities and local citizens and provided him with administrative experience that would inform his later political career.

Janes’s state-level political career advanced in the early 1830s. He served as a member of the Governor’s Council of Vermont from 1830 until 1834, participating in the executive advisory body that helped guide state policy. In 1827 he had married Fanny Butler, the daughter of Vermont Governor Ezra Butler, further linking him to the state’s political leadership. The couple had two children: a daughter, Helen Maria, born in 1828, and a son, Henry Janes, born in 1832, who would later become a physician and serve as a brigadier general and surgeon general of the Vermont National Guard during and after the American Civil War.

Janes entered national politics as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party, a significant third party of the era that opposed what it viewed as the undue influence and secrecy of Freemasonry. He was elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Benjamin F. Deming and was reelected to the Twenty-fourth Congress. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from December 2, 1834, until March 3, 1837. During his two terms in Congress, he participated in the legislative process at a time of considerable political realignment and public debate over issues such as banking, internal improvements, and the role of political parties, representing the interests of his Vermont constituents. He was an unsuccessful Anti-Masonic candidate for reelection in 1836.

Following his congressional service, Janes remained active in Vermont politics and public administration. He served as Vermont State Treasurer from 1838 until 1841, by then affiliated with the Whig Party, reflecting the broader shift of many former Anti-Masons into the Whig coalition. In this statewide office he oversaw the financial affairs of Vermont during a period marked by national economic instability following the Panic of 1837. He later served as a member of the Vermont Council of Censors in 1848, a constitutionally created body that periodically reviewed the actions of the legislative and executive branches to ensure compliance with the state constitution.

In the mid-1850s, as the American party system realigned once more, Janes joined the newly formed Republican Party. He continued to serve in elective office as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1854, 1855, 1861, and 1862. His legislative service during the early years of the Civil War coincided with his son’s medical and military service to the Union cause, underscoring the family’s continued engagement in public service. Over the course of his long career, Janes’s party affiliations—from Anti-Masonic to Whig to Republican—mirrored the evolving political landscape of nineteenth-century Vermont and the nation.

Henry Fisk Janes died on June 6, 1879, in Waterbury, Vermont. He was interred at Hope Cemetery in Waterbury. His life spanned from the early years of the Republic through the post–Civil War era, and his service at the local, state, and national levels reflected a sustained commitment to the civic and political institutions of Vermont and the United States.