Mark Langdon Hill
Encyclopedia
Mark Langdon Hill was United States Representative from Massachusetts
and from Maine
. He was born in Biddeford
(then a district of Massachusetts) on June 30, 1772. He attended the public schools, then became a merchant and shipbuilder in Phippsburg
. He was an overseer and trustee of Bowdoin College
.
Hill was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
,and served in the Massachusetts State Senate. He served as judge of the court of common pleas in 1810. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican
from Massachusetts to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821). Hill and John Holmes
were the two of the seven representatives from the district of Maine willing to vote for the Missouri compromise
, which on a 90-87 vote allowed Maine to become a state at the cost of letting Missouri be a slave state. They were both strongly attacked in the Maine press for this compromise.
Hill was elected as a Democratic-Republican
to the Seventeenth Congress from Maine after the state was admitted to the Union (March 4, 1821-March 3, 1823). He was postmaster of Phippsburg 1819-1824. He was appointed as a collector of customs at Bath
in 1824. Hill died in Phippsburg on November 26, 1842. His interment was in the churchyard of the Congregational Church in Phippsburg Center.
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...
and from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. He was born in Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...
(then a district of Massachusetts) on June 30, 1772. He attended the public schools, then became a merchant and shipbuilder in Phippsburg
Phippsburg, Maine
Phippsburg is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Kennebec River. The population was 2,106 at the 2000 census. It is within the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical rea...
. He was an overseer and trustee of Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
.
Hill was elected a 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...
,and served in the Massachusetts State Senate. He served as judge of the court of common pleas in 1810. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican
Democratic-Republican Party (United States)
The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
from Massachusetts to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821). Hill and John Holmes
John Holmes (U.S. politician)
John Holmes was an American politician. Holmes, a National Republican, served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and was one of the first two U.S. Senators from Maine. Holmes was noted for his involvement in the Treaty of Ghent.-Early life and education:Holmes was born in Kingston,...
were the two of the seven representatives from the district of Maine willing to vote for the Missouri compromise
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
, which on a 90-87 vote allowed Maine to become a state at the cost of letting Missouri be a slave state. They were both strongly attacked in the Maine press for this compromise.
Hill was elected as a Democratic-Republican
Democratic-Republican Party (United States)
The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...
to the Seventeenth Congress from Maine after the state was admitted to the Union (March 4, 1821-March 3, 1823). He was postmaster of Phippsburg 1819-1824. He was appointed as a collector of customs at Bath
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
in 1824. Hill died in Phippsburg on November 26, 1842. His interment was in the churchyard of the Congregational Church in Phippsburg Center.