Charles Hudson (Massachusetts)
| Charles Hudson | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th district |
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| In office May 3, 1841 – March 3, 1849 |
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| Preceded by | Levi Lincoln, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Charles Allen |
| Member of the Lexington, Massachusetts Board of Selectman |
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| Member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council[1] |
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| Member of the Massachusetts State Senate[1] |
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| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives[1] |
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| In office 1828[1] – 1833[1] |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | November 14, 1795 Marlborough, Massachusetts[2] |
| Died | May 4, 1881 Lexington, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Rider, m. 1825, Martha B. Rider m. 1830[1] |
| Profession | Minister |
| Religion | Universalist |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
Charles Hudson (November 14, 1795—May 4, 1881) was a United States writer, historian and politician. He served in both houses of the Massachusetts General Court, and as United States Representative from Massachusetts.
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Biography [edit]
Hudson was born in Marlborough on November 14, 1795. He was the son of Stephen Hudson, who served during the American Revolutionary War, having been captured and confined by the British in Philadelphia. Charles attended the common schools and later an academy, taught school, served in the War of 1812 and studied theology. He was ordained as a Universalist minister in 1819 and located in Westminster, where he served as pastor for 20 years.
Hudson was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he served from 1828 to 1833. He then served in the Massachusetts State Senate from 1833 to 1839. In 1839 he became a member of the Executive Council, and served until 1841. He was a member of the Massachusetts State Board of Education.
Hudson was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Levi Lincoln, Jr. He was reelected to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses and served from May 3, 1841, to March 3, 1849.
Hudson was an unsuccessful for reelection in 1848 to the Thirty-first Congress, and moved to Lexington. He lived in a large house on the town Common ("Battle Green"), about where the driveway of the Hancock Church is today. The house was moved to Belfry Terrace in the early 1900s. Hudson served as a selectman of Lexington, and wrote a comprehensive history of the town, first published 1868. He presided at the centennial celebration of the battle of Lexington in 1875, and delivered an address.
He served as a naval officer of the port of Boston, edited the Boston Daily Atlas for many years, and was assessor of internal revenue 1864-1868. He was reportedly a close friend of President Abraham Lincoln. He was an author of religious textbooks.
Hudson died in Lexington on May 4, 1881. Interment was in Munroe Cemetery, on Massachusetts Avenue in that town.
Hudson, Massachusetts [edit]
The town of Hudson, Massachusetts is named after Charles Hudson. The reason being is because he offered the newly-incorporated town $500 towards the construction of a public library, but only if the new town was named after him.
Publications [edit]
- Letters to Rev. Hosea Ballou (1827)
- Reply to Walter Balfour (1829)
- History of Westminster (Boston, 1832)
- Doubts Concerning the Battle of Bunker Hill (1857)
- Historical Address at the Centennial at Westminster (1859)
- History of Marlborough (1862)
- History of Lexington, with Genealogical Register of Lexington Families (1868)
He prepared congressional reports on the “Protective Policy,” legislative reports on “Capital Punishment,” “The Northeastern Boundary,” and “The Incompetency of Witnesses on Account of Religious Belief,” besides articles for periodicals and newspapers.
Notes [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Massachusetts Historical Society (1889), Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol IV - Second Series. 1887-1889, Boston, MA: Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 29.
- ^ Massachusetts Historical Society (1889), Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol IV - Second Series. 1887-1889, Boston, MA: Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 28.
References [edit]
- Charles Hudson (Massachusetts) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1892). "Hudson, Charles". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Levi Lincoln, Jr. |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th congressional district March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853 |
Succeeded by Charles Allen |
- 1795 births
- 1881 deaths
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Whigs
- Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Massachusetts State Senators
- People from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- American newspaper editors
- Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council
