Charles Wentworth Upham
Encyclopedia
Charles Wentworth Upham (May 4, 1802 – June 15, 1875) was a U.S. Representative
from Massachusetts
. Upham was also a member, and President of the Massachusetts State Senate, the 7th Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts
, and twice a member of the Massachusetts
State House of Representatives
. Upham was the cousin of George Baxter Upham and Jabez Upham
.
, New Brunswick on May 4, 1802.
Upham married Ann Susan Holmes March 29, 1826. She was the daughter of Rev. Abeil Holmes and Sarah Oliver Wendell. Ann was the sister of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Charles and Ann had 15 children all born in Salem, Massachusetts and only four lived to adulthood; Charles Wentworth Upham Jr. born in 1830 and died at the age of 30 in Buffalo, New York
, married to Mary Haven, no children; William Phineas Upham born in 1836 and died in 1905, Newton, Massachusetts
, married to Cynthia Bailey Nurse and had two daughters; Sarah Wendell Upham born 1839 and died unmarried at 25; and Oliver Wendell Holmes Upham born in 1843 and died in 1905, Salem, Massachusetts, married to Caroline Ely Wilson, one daughter (Dorothy Quincy Upham, b. 1881) and one son (Charles Wentworth Upham, b. 1883).
A classmate and former friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson
, Upham was an opponent of the burgeoning Transcendentalism
movement and later engineered for Nathaniel Hawthorne
to be dismissed from his job at the Salem custom house
. He also arranged for Jones Very
to be institutionalized at McClean Asylum
. Senator Charles Sumner
once referred to Upham as "that smooth, smiling, oily man of God".
Upham died on on June 15, 1875, in Salem, Massachusetts.
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...
. Upham was also a member, and President of the Massachusetts State Senate, the 7th Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, and twice a member of the 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...
State 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...
. Upham was the cousin of George Baxter Upham and Jabez Upham
Jabez Upham
Jabez Upham was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, brother of George Baxter Upham, and cousin of Charles Wentworth Upham.Born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, Upham graduated from Harvard University in 1785....
.
Biography
Charles Wentworth Upham was born in Saint JohnSaint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, New Brunswick on May 4, 1802.
Upham married Ann Susan Holmes March 29, 1826. She was the daughter of Rev. Abeil Holmes and Sarah Oliver Wendell. Ann was the sister of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...
Charles and Ann had 15 children all born in Salem, Massachusetts and only four lived to adulthood; Charles Wentworth Upham Jr. born in 1830 and died at the age of 30 in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, married to Mary Haven, no children; William Phineas Upham born in 1836 and died in 1905, Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, married to Cynthia Bailey Nurse and had two daughters; Sarah Wendell Upham born 1839 and died unmarried at 25; and Oliver Wendell Holmes Upham born in 1843 and died in 1905, Salem, Massachusetts, married to Caroline Ely Wilson, one daughter (Dorothy Quincy Upham, b. 1881) and one son (Charles Wentworth Upham, b. 1883).
A classmate and former friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, Upham was an opponent of the burgeoning Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
movement and later engineered for Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
to be dismissed from his job at the Salem custom house
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
. He also arranged for Jones Very
Jones Very
Jones Very was an American essayist, poet, clergymen, and mystic associated with the American Transcendentalism movement. He was known as a scholar of William Shakespeare and many of his poems were Shakespearean sonnets...
to be institutionalized at McClean Asylum
McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and ground-breaking neuroscience research...
. Senator Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
once referred to Upham as "that smooth, smiling, oily man of God".
Upham died on on June 15, 1875, in Salem, Massachusetts.
Publications
- Salem Witchcraft with an account of Salem Village and a history of opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects. Frederick Unger, New York, 1978 (Reprint), 2 vv.
- Lectures on Witchcraft Comprising a History of the Delusion in Salem in 1692 (1831) Kessinger Publishing (Reprint), 2003. ISBN 9780766180888
- A Discourse Delivered on the Sabbath After the Decease of the Hon. Timothy Pickering. Kessinger Publishing, United States, 2010 (Reprint). ISBN 9781163749272
- Eulogy on the Life and Character of Zachary Taylor. BiblioLife, LLC, USA (Reprint), 2009. ISBN 9781117401485
- Memoir of Francis Peabody, President of the Essex Institute. Pranava Books, 2008 (Reprinted on demand from 1868 edition.
- Letters on the Logos (1828) Kessinger Publishing, 2003 (Reprint). ISBN 9780766146792