It rained the entire journey, according to his journal, and while one friend joined him climbing Mansfield, he hiked the balance of the expedition accompanied only by his "inseparable companions," his knapsack and barometer. He was an early traveler on a path to the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire that had been constructed in 1821 by the pioneering Ethan Crawford. A Democrat, Partridge served as Vermont's Surveyor General from 1822 to 1823. He also served four terms in the Vermont House of Representatives, (1833, 1834, 1837 and 1839). In addition, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives on five occasions between 1834 and 1840, losing each time to Anti-Masonic and Whig party candidate Horace Everett. In 1837, Partridge married Ann Swasey (1810-1902), with whom he had two sons, George M. C. Partridge (1838-1855) and Henry V. Partridge (1839-1920). His widow did not remarry, and survived him by 48 years. In 1823 Partridge adopted a young Greek boy, George Colvocoresses, whom he raised and educated at Norwich University. Colvocoresses, NU Class of 1831, was appointed to the United States Navy in 1832; from 1838-1842 he served in the United States Exploring Expedition, better known as the Wilkes Expedition of the Pacific Ocean. Three separate geographical features, two on the west coast of the U.S. and another in Antarctica, were named for Colvocoresses. Partridge died in Norwich on January 17, 1854. He was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Norwich. Partridge wrote widely, mostly in local newspapers and in books, about his many travels, several mathematical and scientific subjects, and his constant, vocal opposition to the academy at West Point. The following is an incomplete list of his writings.