Leverett Saltonstall I

Leverett Saltonstall
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 2nd district
In office December 5, 1838 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	Stephen C. Phillips
Succeeded by	Daniel P. King
First Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts
In office April 1836 – December 1838
Preceded by	Board of Selectmen
Succeeded by	Stephen C. Phillips[1]
President of the Massachusetts Senate[2]
In office 1831[3]-1832
Preceded by	James Fowler
Succeeded by	William Thorndike
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1817-1819
In office 1831-1832
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1813-1814
In office 1816
In office 1822
In office 1829
In office 1834
In office 1844
Personal details
Born	June 13, 1783 Haverhill, Massachusetts
Died	May 8, 1845 (aged 61) Salem, Massachusetts
Resting place	Harmony Grove Cemetery
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Mary Elizabeth Sanders[4]
Children	Leverett Saltonstall
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Unitarian
Signature

Leverett Saltonstall (June 13, 1783 – May 8, 1845), was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts who also served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, President of the Massachusetts Senate,^[5] the first Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts^[6] and a Member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College.^[7]

Saltonstall was a great-grandfather of Massachusetts Governor and U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall, 1892-1979.

Early life and education

Saltonstall was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, June 13, 1783 as a member of the Saltonstall family. He pursued classical studies, attending Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, and was graduated from Harvard University in 1802. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar association and commenced practice in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1805.

Salem City Hall & Mayor Leverett Saltonstall

Salem City Hall was built in 1837-38 under the supervision of Mayor Leverett Saltonstall and a committee appointed for that purpose. The cornerstone was laid on September 6, 1837. Artifacts buried beneath the cornerstone included copies of local newspapers, the Mayor's speech for the organization of City Government (May 9, 1836), and the new City Charter.

Estate of Simon Forrester

Saltonstall, his brother-in-law Dudley Leavitt Pickman and Nathaniel Bowditch all acted as trustees of the estate of Simon Forrester, a ship captain born in Ireland who became one of pioneers of Salem merchant shipping and one of Salem's leading merchants and philanthropists.^[8][9]

Positions and offices

• A delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1820.
• An unsuccessful candidate for election to the 17th United States Congress in 1820.
• A member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1813, 1814, 1816, 1822, 1829, 1834, and 1844.
• Served in the Massachusetts Senate, 1817–1819, 1831, and 1832, and was President of the Massachusetts Senate in 1831 and 1832.
• The first mayor of Salem, serving 1836-1837.
• Elected as a Whig to the 25th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Stephen C. Phillips, and then reelected to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, serving from December 5, 1838, to March 3, 1843.
• Chairman for the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Twenty-sixth Congress).
• Committee on Manufactures (Twenty-seventh Congress).
• Unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Twenty-eighth Congress.
• Overseer of Harvard University, 1835-1845.

Death and burial

Leverett Saltonstall died in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, May 8, 1845, and rests in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

References

1. Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1888), History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume I, Issue 1, Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Co., p. 225.
2. Quincy, Josiah (1840), The history of Harvard University, Volume 1, Cambridge, MA: John Owen, p. 505.
3. Quincy, Josiah (1840), The history of Harvard University, Volume 1, Cambridge, MA: John Owen, p. 505.
4. Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1888), History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume I, Issue 1, Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Co., p. xxxvi.
5. New England Historic Genealogical Society (1908), Memorial biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Volume IX 1890-1897, Philadelphia, PA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, p. 254.
6. Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1888), History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1, Issue 1, Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Co., p. 225.
7. New England Historic Genealogical Society (1908), Memorial biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Volume IX 1890-1897, Philadelphia, PA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, p. 254.
8. Dudley Leavitt Pickman Papers, Phillips Library Collection, Peabody Essex Museum, pem.org
9. Simon Forrester, Historical Collections of the Essex Institute, Vol. IV, G.M. Whipple & A.A. Smith, Salem, 1862

Bibliography

• Leverett Saltonstall I at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress