Samuel Chilton
Encyclopedia
Samuel Chilton was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia
.
Born in Warrenton, Virginia
, Chilton moved to Missouri
with his family as a child and attended private school there. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1826, commencing practice back in Warrenton. He got involved in politics and was elected a Whig
to the United States House of Representatives
in 1842, when he narrowly defeated William "Extra Billy" Smith following a redistricting. Chilton served one term from 1843 to 1845, during which he advocated abolishing imprisonment for debt. Afterward, he returned to practicing law and was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention
from 1850 to 1851. At the convention, he proposed a key compromise on legislative apportionment.
Chilton moved to Washington, D.C.
, by 1853 and became a member of American Party
, or Know-Nothings. In 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for abolitionist
John Brown
after his previous defense attorneys had advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.
Chilton died in Warrenton on January 7, 1867 and was interred there at Warrenton Cemetery.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Born in Warrenton, Virginia
Warrenton, Virginia
Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census, and 14,634 at the 2010 estimate. It is the county seat of Fauquier County. Public schools in the town include Fauquier High School, Warrenton Middle School, Taylor Middle School and two...
, Chilton moved to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
with his family as a child and attended private school there. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1826, commencing practice back in Warrenton. He got involved in politics and was elected a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
to 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...
in 1842, when he narrowly defeated William "Extra Billy" Smith following a redistricting. Chilton served one term from 1843 to 1845, during which he advocated abolishing imprisonment for debt. Afterward, he returned to practicing law and was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention
Constitutional convention (political meeting)
A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
from 1850 to 1851. At the convention, he proposed a key compromise on legislative apportionment.
Chilton moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, by 1853 and became a member of American Party
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...
, or Know-Nothings. In 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
after his previous defense attorneys had advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.
Chilton died in Warrenton on January 7, 1867 and was interred there at Warrenton Cemetery.
Sources
- John T. Kneebone et al., eds., Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 1998- ), 3:217-218. ISBN 0-88490-206-4.
- Death date in obituary, Warrenton True Index, 12, 19 Jan. 1867.
- "John Brown Trial: 1859 - Brown's Lawyers Search For A Defense," Law Library - American Law and Legal Information, http://law.jrank.org/pages/2558/John-Brown-Trial-1859-Brown-s-Lawyers-Search-Defense.html (accessed December 14, 2009).
External links
- Samuel Chilton at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...