Benjamin Dean was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives 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...

.

Early life

Born in Clitheroe

Clitheroe

Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is 1½ miles from the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. It has a population of 14,697...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, fifth child of Alice Lofthouse and Banjamin Dean, he moved with his family to America at the age of five, and grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...

. He attended Lowell schools and 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...

. In 1845 he was admitted to the bar, and founded the Lowell firm of Dean & Dinsmoor, Attorneys. Dean continued his practice after moving to Boston in 1852.

Public service

Dean served in the Massachusetts Senate

Massachusetts Senate

The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...

 and on the Common Council of the City of Boston. Dean was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the 45th United States Congress

45th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:-Senate:*President: William A. Wheeler *President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry -House of Representatives:*Speaker: Samuel J. Randall -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

, serving from 1878 to 1879. Dean was not a candidate for reëlection in 1878. Thereafter he resumed his law practice in Boston, and was chairman of the board of parks commissioners in his later years.

Personal life

Dean was married to Mary Anne French, daughter of Lowell Mayor Josiah Bowers French

Josiah B. French

Josiah Bowers French was a bank president who served as the seventh Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts.-Family life:...

 and a descendant of the Cotton and Mather

Increase Mather

Increase Mather was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay . He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials...

 families of Massachusetts Bay

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

. They had six children, including marine artist Walter Lofthouse Dean

Walter Lofthouse Dean

Walter Lofthouse Dean was an American marine painter, commodore of the Boston Yacht Club and Vice President of the Boston Art Club...

 and Judge Josiah Stevens Dean.

A 33-degree Mason

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

, he served as grand master of the Grand Commandery of the United States from 1880 to 1883; and attended the Tricentennial Conclave in San Francisco in 1883 with his wife and youngest daughter, Mary.

He was a member of the Boston Yacht Club

Hull Yacht Club

The Hull Yacht Club is a U.S. boating organization, located in Hull, Massachusetts, with access to Boston Harbor. The club is based mainly around personally owned yachts and pleasure boats, but also has a history of racing competition.-History:...

 and owned Outer Brewster Island

Outer Brewster Island

Outer Brewster Island, also known as Outward Island, is a one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and is situated some 10 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 20 acres, and consists of exposed bedrock covered by fertile soil...

. Dean died in South Boston on April 9, 1897 and is buried at Lowell Cemetery

Lowell Cemetery

Lowell Cemetery is a cemetery located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Founded in 1841 and located on the banks of the Concord River, the cemetery is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the nation, inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

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External links