Theodore Sedgwick

For his grandson the law writer, see Theodore Sedgwick (writer).

Theodore Sedgwick
5th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office December 2, 1799 – March 4, 1801
President	John Adams
Preceded by	Jonathan Dayton
Succeeded by	Nathaniel Macon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st, 2nd, 4th districts
In office March 4, 1789 – June 1796 March 4, 1799-March 4, 1801
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office June 11, 1796 – March 4, 1799
Preceded by	Caleb Strong
Succeeded by	Samuel Dexter
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office June 27, 1798 – December 5, 1798
President	John Adams
Preceded by	Jacob Read
Succeeded by	John Laurance
Personal details
Born	May 9, 1746(1746-05-09) West Hartford, Connecticut
Died	January 24, 1813(1813-01-24) (aged 66) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Federalist
Alma mater	Yale College
Profession	Law
Military service
Service/branch	Continental Army
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War

Theodore Sedgwick (May 9, 1746 – January 24, 1813) was an attorney, politician and jurist, who served in elected state government and as a Delegate to the Continental Congress, a US Representative, and a United States Senator from Massachusetts. He served as the fifth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was appointed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1802 and served there the rest of his life.

Early life and education

His father was Benjaman Sedgwick who was born November 7, 1716 and died February 7, 1755. His grandfather was Samuel Sedgwick, great-grandfather was William Sedgwick, and great-great-grandfather was 1636 settler Major General Robert Sedgwick. Sedgwick attended Yale College, where he studied theology and law. He did not graduate, but went on to study law ("read law") under Mark Hopkins of Great Barrington, who was the grandfather of the Mark Hopkins who was later president of Williams College.

Early career

Sedgwick was admitted to the bar in 1766 and commenced practice in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He moved to Sheffield. During the American Revolutionary War, he served in the Continental Army as a major, and took part in the expedition to Canada and the Battle of White Plains in 1776.

Marriage and family

After his first wife died, Sedgwick married again on April 17, 1774 (his second), Pamela Dwight of the New England Dwight family. She was born June 9, 1752 and died September 20, 1807, and was the daughter of Brigadier General Joseph Dwight of Great Barrington and his second wife, the widow Abigail Williams Sargent. Abigail was the daughter of Colonel Ephraim Williams, and half-sister of Ephraim Williams, Jr. the founder of Williams College.

The Sedgwicks had ten children, although three died within a year of birth, reflecting the high infant mortality of the time. They were:

1. Elizabeth Mason Sedgwick was born April 30, 1775, married Thaddeus Pomeroy, and died October 15, 1827.
2. A child died in birth March 27, 1777.
3. Frances Pamela Sedgwick was born May 6, 1778, married Ebenezer Watson and died June 20, 1842.
4. Theodore Sedgwick II was born December 9, 1780, became a lawyer, and died 1839. He married Susan Anne Livingson (1788–1867), and their son Theodore Sedgwick (1811–1859), was a lawyer and author.
5. Catherine Sedgwick was born July 11, 1782 but died March 4, 1783.
6. Henry Dwight Sedgwick was born April 18, 1874 but died March 1, 1875.
7. Henry Dwight Sedgwick was born September 22, 1785, married Jane Minot (1795–1859) and died December 23, 1831. Their grandson was also a lawyer, Henry Dwight Sedgwick III (1861–1957).
8. Catharine Maria Sedgwick was born December 28, 1789, became one of the first noted female writers in the United States, and died July 31, 1867.
9. Charles Sedgwick was born December 15, 1791, became clerk of Massachucetts Supreme Court, married Elizabeth Buckminster Dwight (1801–1864), and died August 3, 1856. Their grandson was anatomist Charles Sedgwick Minot (1852–1914).

Political career

A Federalist, Sedgwick began his political career in 1780 as a Delegate to the Continental Congress. He was elected as representative to the state house, and then as state senator.

In 1789 Sedgwick was elected as US Representative to the US Congress from the First District of Massachusetts, and over time also represented the Second districts, serving until 1796. That year he was elected as US Senator, and served until 1799. In 1799 he was re-elected as a Representative, this time from the Fourth District, and was elected the fifth Speaker of the House, serving until March 1801.

In 1802, Sedgwick was appointed a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. He held this position until his death in Boston, Massachusetts in 1813. He was buried in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and his grave is at the center of the "Sedgwick Pie".

Freedom suit

As a relatively young lawyer, Sedgwick with Tapping Reeve pled the case of Brom and Bett vs. Ashley (1781), an early "freedom suit", in county court for the slaves Elizabeth Freeman (known as Bett) and Brom. Bett was a black slave who had fled from her master, Colonel John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts, because of cruel treatment by his wife. Brom joined her in suing for freedom from the Ashleys. The attorneys challenged their enslavement under the new state constitution of 1780, which held that "all men are born free and equal." The jury agreed and ruled that Bett and Brom were free. The decision was upheld on appeal by the state Supreme Court.

Bett marked her freedom by taking the name of Elizabeth Freeman, and she chose to work for wages at the Sedgwick household, where she helped rear their several children. She worked there for much of the rest of her life, buying a separate house for her and her daughter after the Sedgwick children were grown. The Sedgwicks had Freeman buried in their family plot. The family marked Freeman's grave with an inscribed monument, and it is beside that of their daughter Catharine Maria Sedgwick.

External links

• Theodore Sedgwick at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by (none)	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 4th congressional district March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1793	Succeeded by Henry Dearborn, George Thatcher, Peleg Wadsworth (General ticket) (Maine District)
Preceded by Benjamin Goodhue	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1793 – March 4, 1795 alongside: Dwight Foster, William Lyman, Artemas Ward on a General ticket	Succeeded by William Lyman
Preceded by Fisher Ames, Samuel Dexter, Benjamin Goodhue, Samuel Holten (General Ticket)	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st congressional district March 4, 1795 – June 1796	Succeeded by Thomson J. Skinner
Preceded by Thomson J. Skinner	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st congressional district March 4, 1799 – March 4, 1801	Succeeded by John Bacon
United States Senate
Preceded by Caleb Strong	United States Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts June 11, 1796 – March 4, 1799 Served alongside: Benjamin Goodhue	Succeeded by Samuel Dexter
Political offices
Preceded by Jacob Read	President pro tempore of the United States Senate June 27, 1798 – December 5, 1798	Succeeded by John Laurance
Preceded by Jonathan Dayton	Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives December 2, 1799 – March 4, 1801	Succeeded by Nathaniel Macon