Abel Underwood

Abel Underwood
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Newbury
In office
1861–1862
Preceded byHenry W. Bailey
Succeeded byWilliam R. Shedd
Judge of the Vermont Circuit Court
In office
1854–1857
Preceded byJacob Collamer
Succeeded byNone (position eliminated)
United States Attorney for the District of Vermont
In office
1849–1853
Preceded byCharles Linsley
Succeeded byLucius B. Peck
State's Attorney of Orange County, Vermont
In office
1838–1839
Preceded byEdmond Weston
Succeeded byElijah Farr
In office
1840–1841
Preceded byElijah Farr
Succeeded byElijah Farr
Personal details
Born(1799-04-08)April 8, 1799
Bradford, Vermont
DiedApril 22, 1879(1879-04-22) (aged 80)
Wells River, Vermont
Political partyWhig (before 1855)
Republican (from 1855)
SpouseEmily Rix
RelationsLevi Underwood (nephew)
Children5
ProfessionAttorney

Abel Underwood (April 8, 1799 – April 22, 1879) was a Vermont lawyer, judge, and politician. A Whig and later a Republican, he was most notable for his service as United States Attorney for the District of Vermont (1849-1853) and a judge of the Vermont Circuit Court (1854-1857).

A native of Bradford, Vermont, Underwood attended the academy in Royalton, Vermont to prepare for a university education, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1824. He read law with Isaac Fletcher, attained admission to the bar in 1827, and practiced in Wells River, Vermont. A Whig, he served as State's Attorney of Orange County (1838-1839, 1840-1841), U.S. Attorney during the presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore (1849-1853), and a judge of the Vermont Circuit Court from 1854 until the court was abolished in 1857. He became a Republican when the party was founded in the 1850s, and served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1861 to 1862. Underwood died in Wells River in 1879.