Tristram Dalton | |
|---|---|
 Dalton, between 1750 and 1758 | |
| United States Senator fromMassachusetts | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | George Cabot |
| 8th Commissioner of the Federal City | |
| In office March 10, 1801 – July 1, 1802 | |
| Preceded by | William Cranch |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1738-05-28)May 28, 1738 |
| Died | May 30, 1817(1817-05-30) (aged 79) |
| Party | Pro-Administration |
| Alma mater | Harvard College |
| Profession | Merchant |
Tristram Dalton (May 28, 1738 – May 30, 1817) was an Americanpolitician and merchant fromMassachusetts. He served a single term as one of the firstUnited States senators, from 1789 to 1791. He was for many years one of the leading citizens ofNewburyport, Massachusetts, but lost most of his fortune due to ill-timed and mismanaged investments in the real estate ofWashington, D.C.
Tristram Dalton was born in a part ofNewbury, Massachusetts, that is nowNewburyport, the only child of Michael and Mary (Little) Dalton. He graduated fromHarvard College in 1755, in a class that also includedJohn Adams. Afterwards, he studiedlaw and was admitted to thebar, but did not practice, instead pursuing a career as a merchant. Dalton's father was a ship's captain turned merchant, involved in trade with Europe and theWest Indies, and was instrumental in securing the separation of Newburyport from Newbury. Upon his father's death in 1770, Tristram inherited an estate and local businesses that made him Newburyport's wealthiest citizen.
Dalton was not significantly involved in politics until 1774, when the tensions of theAmerican Revolution were rising but theAmerican Revolutionary War had not yet started. He was elected to theMassachusetts Provincial Congress and the Newburyport board of selectmen in 1774, and was an active proponent of independence after the war broke out. His contributions included provisioning of ships from his merchant fleet to thePenobscot Expedition of 1780. Dalton served as a member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives from 1782 to 1785, and served asits speaker in 1784. He served as aMassachusetts state senator from 1786 to 1788.
Dalton was elected to theContinental Congress in 1783 and 1784, but did not attend. He was elected as a delegate to the state convention on the adoption of theUnited States Constitution, in which he advocated for its adoption. In 1788 he was elected as one of the state's firstUnited States Senators, along withCaleb Strong. Strong won the draw for the longer of the two terms, leaving Dalton with a short two-year term. He served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1791. In the 1791 election (US Senators were then chosen by vote of the state legislature), Dalton ran a distant fourth againstGeorge Cabot, the eventual victor, and others.
In 1801 he was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as the last commissioner of the Federal City, which by then had been named Washington in the District of Columbia. He filled the seat vacated by William Cranch who was appointed to the bench in the new capitol and served for a little over a year until the Board of Commissioners of the Federal City was disbanded in 1802.
Dalton had married Ruth Hooper, the daughter of a wealthyMarblehead merchant, in 1761. They had grown fond of the city life inNew York City (then the seat of the federal government), and moved there, and thenPhiladelphia. When the site of the nation's capital was selected, Dalton sold off most of his property in Massachusetts, and speculatively purchased land inWashington, D.C. Many of the family's personal items were lost when the ship carrying them to Washington foundered. Dalton's investment was also a failure, as Washington real estate did not appreciate, and he had invested through an unscrupulous agent, wiping out most of his fortune.
In order to make ends meet, Dalton was given a patronage appointment as surveyor of the port ofBoston, serving from November 1814 until his death on May 30, 1817. He is interred in the churchyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Newburyport. His wife died in 1826. Of their ten children, only three girls survived to adulthood.
According to research conducted byThe Washington Post, Dalton was one of only two members of Congress from Massachusetts who ownedslaves.[1] In 1804, Dalton buried his slave, named Fortune, in the all whiteconsecrated Old Burying Hill Cemetery by the Bartlet Mall in Newburport.[2]
Dalton was a charter member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780.[3]
Tristram Dalton is the namesake ofDalton, Massachusetts,Dalton, New Hampshire andDalton, Georgia.[4]
| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by Office Created | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Massachusetts March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791 Served alongside:Caleb Strong | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 2 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
