Samuel Dexter (Massachusetts politician)
Samuel Dexter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1764–1767, 1775, 1785 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council | |
| In office 1768–1774 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1726 Dedham, Massachusetts Bay |
| Died | 1810 (aged 83–84) Woodstock, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Children | Samuel Dexter |
| Parent | Samuel Dexter (father) |
Samuel Dexter (1726—1810[1][2]) was an early American politician from Dedham, Massachusetts.
Personal life
[edit]Born in 1726 in Dedham,[2] he did not wish to follow his father, also named Samuel Dexter, into the ministry at First Church and Parish in Dedham.[3][4] He married Hannah Sigourney in 1748.[2] His son, the third Samuel Dexter, served in the administrations of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Career
[edit]Dexter moved from Dedham to Boston and earned "a modest fortune" with his "mercantile pursuits."[3][5] He retired back to Dedham in 1761 at the age of 36 to build the Samuel Dexter House.[3][4] The house still stands today at 699 High Street.[6]
Political career
[edit]After retiring to Dedham, he was active in the community for the next 13 years. He was active politically during the Revolutionary War[7] and kept a diary of his thoughts about the day's events.[8] During this time he served in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.[3] He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1764 to 1767 and again in 1765, and 1785.[2][5][3] From 1768 to 1774, he was a Governor's Councillor.[9][3] He was a selectman for five terms beginning in 1764,[10][5] moderator,[5] justice of the peace, and town clerk in 1761.[2][5] He was town clerk for a total of five years.[11]
Following the evacuation of Boston, General George Washington spent the night of April 4, 1776 at Dexter's home on his way to New York.[12] In December 1771, Dexter hosted John Hancock and Jason Haven, his minister and brother-in-law, for dinner.[9] In July 1771, he invited Governor Thomas Hutchinson and several members of the Council[a] to dinner.[9]
On the morning of April 19, 1775, a messenger came "down the Needham road" with news about the battle in Lexington.[13][14] He stopped at the home of Samuel Dexter and ran up to the front door.[14] Dexter met him at the front door and, upon hearing the news, nearly fainted.[14] He had to be helped back into his house.[14]
Dexter believed that it was suicidal for a group of militiamen to face off against the British Army.[14] Instead, he favored having them retreat to the interior to train before facing off against the redcoats.[15] He was accused of not being sufficiently devoted to the patriot cause but was too proud to fight back.[14]
He resigned all his positions in the autumn of 1775[b] in ill health and moved to Woodstock, Connecticut.[3] In his will he left $170 to the Dedham Public Schools.[1]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Possibly James Otis, Artemas Ward, or James Bowdoin.[9]
- ^ Smith has the date as 1776.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Smith 1936, p. 119.
- ^ a b c d e Schutz, John A. (1997). Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780: A Biographical Dictionary. UPNE. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-55553-304-5. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Smith 1936, p. 75.
- ^ a b Hanson 1976, p. 133.
- ^ a b c d e Hanson 1976, p. 134.
- ^ Robert Hanson (1999). "Stories Behind the Pictures in the Images of America: Dedham Book". Dedham Historical Society News-Letter (December). Archived from the original on December 31, 2006.
- ^ "A Capsule History of Dedham". Dedham Historical Society. 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
- ^ Lockridge 1985, p. 112.
- ^ a b c d Hanson 1976, p. 147.
- ^ Worthington 1827, p. 79-81.
- ^ Worthington 1827, p. 79.
- ^ Guide Book To New England Travel. 1919.
- ^ Abbott 1903, pp. 290–297.
- ^ a b c d e f Hanson 1976, p. 152.
- ^ Hanson 1976, p. 153.
Works cited
[edit]- Abbott, Katharine M. (1903). Old Paths And Legends Of New England (PDF). New York: The Knickerbocker Press. pp. 290–297. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- Lockridge, Kenneth (1985). A New England Town. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-95459-3.
- Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- Worthington, Erastus (1827). The history of Dedham: from the beginning of its settlement, in September 1635, to May 1827. Dutton and Wentworth. p. 29. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1726 births
- 1810 deaths
- People from Woodstock, Connecticut
- People from colonial Connecticut
- Merchants from colonial Massachusetts
- 18th-century American merchants
- People from colonial Dedham, Massachusetts
- Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Members of the colonial Massachusetts Governor's Council
- Dedham, Massachusetts selectmen
- Town clerks of Dedham