George N. Dale (February 19, 1834 – January 29, 1903) was a Vermont lawyer and politician who served as the 28th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1870 to 1872. He was the father of Porter Hinman Dale, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as a United States Senator.Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans Counties, Vermont, by William Hartley Jeffrey, 1904, page 3Official Congressional Directory, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1919, pages 115 to 116Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, Record for Porter Hinman Dale, accessed January 2, 2012
Early life George Needham Dale was born in Fairfax, Vermont, on February 19, 1834.One Thousand Men, by Dorman B. E. Kent, 1914, page 54 He was raised in Waitsfield and attended Thetford Academy. He studied law with Paul Dillingham and became an attorney. Dale settled in Essex County, first in Guildhall, and later in Island Pond.Necrology entry, George N. Dale, published in Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society for 1903-04, 1905, pages 41 to 42
Political career A Republican, Dale served as Essex County State's Attorney from 1857 to 1860, and in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1860 to 1861.Men of Vermont: An Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters and Sons of Vermont, compiled by Jacob G. Ullery, 1894, page 92
In 1861, Dale was appointed Deputy U.S. Collector of Customs in Island Pond, and he served until 1866.Sketch of the Life of Hon. Timothy Hinman, by Norman Williams Bingham, 1892, page 34
From 1866 to 1870, Dale served in the Vermont Senate, and was Senate President from 1869 to 1870.Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont, edited by Frederick W. Baldwin, 1886, pages 245 to 247
Dale won election as Lieutenant Governor in 1870 and served the two years then available under the provisions of the Mountain Rule.Vermont: The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 4, 1921, page 47, Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, State Archives and Records Administration, 2011, page 1, 2011, page 12
From 1872 to 1882, he again served as Deputy Collector of Customs in Island Pond.A History of Guildhall, Vermont, edited by Everett Chamberlin Benton, 1886, pages 229 to 230
In 1885, Dale became President of the Vermont Bar Association, serving until 1886.Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, edited by William Adams, 1889, pages 104 to 105
Dale returned to the Vermont House in 1892, and he served in the Vermont Senate for the second time from 1894 to 1896.Vermont Legislative Directory, published by Vermont Secretary of State, 1894, page 340
In 1901, Dale was appointed U.S. Consul in Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, serving until 1902.Sources for the Study of Canadian-American Relations, edited by Michael P. Chaney, University of Vermont Bailey/Howe Library, 1986, page 16
Personal life Dale married Helen Hinman in 1863 and had three children (one son, Porter Dale, and two daughters). He died in Island Pond on January 29, 1903.Vermont History
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