Dwight Foster (politician, born 1757)
Dwight Foster | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 2nd & 4th district | |
In office March 4, 1793 – June 6, 1800 | |
Preceded by | Benjamin Goodhue (2nd) Henry Dearborn, George Thatcher, Peleg Wadsworth (General ticket) (4th) |
Succeeded by | William Lyman (2nd) Levi Lincoln, Sr. (4th) |
United States Senator from Massachusetts | |
In office June 6, 1800 – March 2, 1803 | |
Preceded by | Samuel Dexter |
Succeeded by | Timothy Pickering |
9th Sheriff of Worcester County, Massachusetts | |
In office 1792–1793 | |
Preceded by | John Sprague |
Succeeded by | William Caldwell |
Personal details | |
Born | Brookfield, Massachusetts | December 7, 1757
Died | April 29, 1823 Brookfield, Massachusetts | (aged 65)
Resting place | Brookfield Cemetery Brookfield, Massachusetts |
Political party | Federalist |
Spouse | Rebecca Faulkner |
Relations | Theodore Foster Dwight Foster MA |
Children | Alfred Dwight Foster |
Alma mater | Brown University Harvard University |
Profession | Law |
Dwight Foster (December 7, 1757 – April 29, 1823) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
Early life
Foster was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts and attended the common schools in Brookfield. He graduated from the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the former name of Brown University) at Providence in 1774.[1] He then studied law and was admitted to the bar association in 1778. He remained in Rhode Island to practice law, beginning his law practice in Providence. He received his Master's degree from Harvard University in 1784.[2]
Career
After returning to Massachusetts, Foster held various positions in the government. He served as justice of the peace for Worcester County from 1781-1823, as special justice of the court of common pleas in 1792, and as sheriff of Worcester County in 1792.[3] In 1791, he was elected as a Federalist candidate to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
He was elected as a United States House of Representatives to the 3rd United States Congress in 1793, and was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses. He served in Congress from March 4, 1793 until his resignation on June 6, 1800.[4] While in Congress, he was Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Claims.
In 1799, he was a delegate to the State constitutional convention[5] and on June 6, 1800 he was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Samuel Dexter's resignation.[6] He served in he Senate until his resignation on March 2, 1803. He was a member of the State House from 1808-1809 and a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council in 1818.[7]
Foster died in Brookfield on April 29, 1823, aged 65,[8] and is interred in Brookfield Cemetery there.[9]
Family life
Foster's father was Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Jedediah Foster, who graduated from Harvard University in 1744.[10] Foster married Rebecca Faulkner on May 7, 1783, and they had one son, Alfred Dwight Foster.[11]
He was the brother of U.S. Senator Theodore Foster,[12] and was the grandfather and namesake of Massachusetts Attorney General and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Dwight Foster MA.[13]
References
- ^ Brown University (1914). Historical Catalogue of Brown University. Brown University. p. 709.
- ^ Harvard University (1900). Quinquennial Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Harvard University. The University. p. 316.
- ^ Pierce, Clifton Pierce (1899). Foster genealogy, Part 1. Press o W.B. Conkey company. p. 64.
- ^ Poore, Benjamin Perley (1878). The Political Register and Congressional Directory: A Statistical Record of the Federal Officials, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial, of the United States of America, 1776-1878. Houghton, Osgood. p. 399.
- ^ Wilson, James Grant and Fiske, John Fiske (1888). Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 2. Gale Research Compan. p. 511.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Poore, Benjamin Perley (1878). The Political Register and Congressional Directory: A Statistical Record of the Federal Officials, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial, of the United States of America, 1776-1878. Houghton, Osgood. p. 399.
- ^ Brown University (1914). Historical Catalogue of Brown University. Brown University. p. 55.
- ^ Pierce, Clifton Pierce (1899). Foster genealogy, Part 1. Press o W.B. Conkey company. p. 64.
- ^ "Hughes-Bemis & Evans-Thor(e)son Families". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ Miller,, J. (1885). Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, Volume 7. J. Miller,. p. 111.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Hughes-Bemis & Evans-Thor(e)son Families". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "FOSTER, Theodore, (1752 - 1828)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ Mull, Carol E. (2010). The Underground Railroad in Michigan. McFarland,. p. 66.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
External links
- United States Congress. "Dwight Foster (id: F000301)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- 1757 births
- 1823 deaths
- Brown University alumni
- Harvard University alumni
- Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Massachusetts lawyers
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
- People from Worcester County, Massachusetts
- United States Senators from Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Federalists
- Federalist Party United States Senators
- Burials in Massachusetts
- People from Providence, Rhode Island
- Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council
- Massachusetts United States Representative stubs
- Massachusetts State House of Representatives stubs