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Samuel Atkins Eliot (politician)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Atkins Eliot (who was a patriarch of a distinguished American family, the Eliot family
and which included Thomas Hopkinson Eliot) was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from Massachusetts
.
Eliot was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 5, 1798. He attended the Boston Latin School
; graduated from Harvard University
in 1817 and from Harvard Divinity School
in 1820. About 1826, he married Mary Lyman and had four daughters and two sons, including Charles William Eliot
, a future President of Harvard University.
He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
1834-1837. From 1837 to 1839, he was mayor of Boston. During his administration a riot took place, caused by a collision between a volunteer fire company and an Irish funeral procession. The disturbance was suppressed by the promptness of Mayor Eliot, who was on the ground at the first alarm, and immediately took measures for calling out the militia. The result of this affair was the establishment of a paid fire department and a day police. He served in the Massachusetts Senate
in 1843-1844. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert C. Winthrop and served from August 22, 1850 to March 3, 1851; he declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1850. He was treasurer of Harvard University from 1842 to 1853. He published a Sketch of the History of Harvard College and of its Present State (Boston, 1848), and edited selections from the sermons of Dr. Francis W. P. Greenwood
, with a memoir (2 vols., Boston, 1844). He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on January 29, 1862 and his body was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery
.
Eliot family
The Eliot family is the American branch of one of several British families to hold this surname. This branch is based in Boston but originated in East Coker, Yeovil, Somerset. It is one of the Boston Brahmins, a bourgeois family, whose ancestors had become wealthy and held sway over the American...
and which included Thomas Hopkinson Eliot) was a member of the United States House of Representatives
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...
.
Eliot was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 5, 1798. He attended the Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
; graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1817 and from Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
in 1820. About 1826, he married Mary Lyman and had four daughters and two sons, including Charles William Eliot
Charles William Eliot
Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university...
, a future President of Harvard University.
He was 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...
1834-1837. From 1837 to 1839, he was mayor of Boston. During his administration a riot took place, caused by a collision between a volunteer fire company and an Irish funeral procession. The disturbance was suppressed by the promptness of Mayor Eliot, who was on the ground at the first alarm, and immediately took measures for calling out the militia. The result of this affair was the establishment of a paid fire department and a day police. He 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...
in 1843-1844. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert C. Winthrop and served from August 22, 1850 to March 3, 1851; he declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1850. He was treasurer of Harvard University from 1842 to 1853. He published a Sketch of the History of Harvard College and of its Present State (Boston, 1848), and edited selections from the sermons of Dr. Francis W. P. Greenwood
F.W.P. Greenwood
Francis William Pitt Greenwood was a Unitarian minister of King's Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts in the 19th-century.-Biography:...
, with a memoir (2 vols., Boston, 1844). He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
on January 29, 1862 and his body was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
.
Further reading
- Samuel A. Eliot. Being Mayor of Boston a Hundred Years Ago. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 66 (Oct., 1936 -May, 1941), pp. 154–173.