Abijah Bigelow was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

Born in Westminster, Massachusetts

Westminster, Massachusetts

Westminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 7,277.- History :Westminster was first settled in 1737, and was officially incorporated in 1759....

, the son of Elisha and Sarah (Goodridge) Bigelow, Abijah Bigelow studied at Leicester (Massachusetts) Academy and New Ipswich Academy

New Ipswich Academy

New Ipswich Academy was a historic private academy in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, which operated from 1789 to 1968.-History:...

 at New Ipswich, New Hampshire

New Ipswich, New Hampshire

New Ipswich is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,099 at the 2010 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts border, includes the villages of Bank, Davis, Gibson Four Corners, Highbridge, New Ipswich Center, Smithville, and Wilder, though these...

. He graduated from Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

, Hanover, New Hampshire

Hanover, New Hampshire

Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....

, in 1795. He studied law in Groton, Massachusetts

Groton, Massachusetts

Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...

.
He was admitted to the Worcester County bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1798 and commenced practice in Leominster, Massachusetts

Leominster, Massachusetts

Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,...

, in the same year. He was town clerk of Leominster 1803-1809.
He served as member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...

 1807-1809. He was a Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 1809-1860 and justice of the quorum 1812-1860.

Bigelow was elected as a Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

 to the Eleventh Congress

11th United States Congress

- House of Representatives :-Leadership:- Senate :* President: George Clinton * President pro tempore:** John Milledge ** Andrew Gregg , elected June 26, 1809** John Gaillard , elected February 28, 1810...

 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Stedman

William Stedman

William Stedman was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.Stedman was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1784. After this he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1787 and practiced in Lancaster, Charlestown, and Worcester. He was appointed...

. He was reelected to the Twelfth

12th United States Congress

- House of Representatives :During this congress, one new House seat was added for the new state of Louisiana.- Senate :*President: George Clinton *President pro tempore: William H. Crawford -House of Representatives:*Speaker: Henry Clay...

 and Thirteenth

13th United States Congress

- Senate :* President: Elbridge Gerry , until November 23, 1814, thereafter vacant.* President pro tempore: Joseph B. Varnum , December 6, 1813 – February 3, 1814** John Gaillard , elected November 25, 1814- House of Representatives :...

 Congresses and served from October 8, 1810, to March 3, 1815. He viewed the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 in a decidedly negative light.

Bigelow moved to Worcester in 1817, and served as clerk of the courts of Worcester County 1817-1833. He resumed the practice of law, and served as trustee of Leicester Academy

Leicester Academy

Leicester Academy was founded on March 23, 1784, when the Act of Incorporation for Leicester Academy was passed by the Massachusetts General Court as a private, state chartered institution. The charter issued to the Academy bears the bold signature of John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts; and...

 in 1819-1820 and as treasurer 1820-1853. He was appointed a master in chancery

Court of equity

A chancery court, equity court or court of equity is a court that is authorized to apply principles of equity, as opposed to law, to cases brought before it.These courts began with petitions to the Lord Chancellor of England...

 in 1838. He died in Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

, April 5, 1860, and was interred in the Rural Cemetery.

His correspondence with his wife Hannah Gardner Bigelow (1780–1857) while he was a congressman was published in 1930 in volume 40 of the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society

American Antiquarian Society

The American Antiquarian Society , located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and national research library of pre-twentieth century American History and culture. Its main building, known also as Antiquarian Hall, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark...

, Worcester, Massachusetts, with the title "The letters of Abijah Bigelow, member of Congress, to his wife, 1810-1815." They had nine children, seven of whom survived their father. Hannah Bigelow's brother Francis was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.