Samuel Sitgreaves | |
|---|---|
 A 1798 engraving of Sitgreaves now on display at theNational Portrait Gallery | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's4th district | |
| In office March 4, 1795 – August 29, 1798 | |
| Preceded by | New District |
| Succeeded by | John Chapman and Robert Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1764-03-16)March 16, 1764 |
| Died | April 4, 1827(1827-04-04) (aged 63) Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Easton Cemetery |
| Party | Federalist |
| Spouse(s) | Franconia Allibone (m. 1783) Maria Angelina Kemper (m. 1796)[1] |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Samuel Sitgreaves (March 16, 1764 – April 4, 1827) was aUnited States representative fromPennsylvania during the late 18th century.
Sitgreaves was born inPhiladelphia in theProvince of Pennsylvania. He pursued classical studies, studied law, was admitted to thebar in Philadelphia on September 3, 1783 and began practice inEaston, Pennsylvania in 1786. His sister Julianna marriedLewis Allaire Scott, and was the mother ofMayor of PhiladelphiaJohn Morin Scott (1789–1858).
Sitgreaves was a delegate to thePennsylvania Constitutional Convention in 1790, and was elected as aFederalist to theFourth andFifth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1795, until his resignation in 1798. Sitgreaves was one of theimpeachment managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1798 to conduct theimpeachment proceedings against SenatorWilliam Blount. On August 11, 1798, Sitgreaves was appointed United States commissioner toGreat Britain under theJay Treaty, regarding British debt claims arising from theAmerican Revolution.
After his involvement in the Blount affair of 1797, Sitgreaves was considered the Congressional expert on treason. As such, Sitgreaves was asked to lead the prosecution against John Fries and the others responsible for carrying outFries's Rebellion, an armedtax revolt amongPennsylvania Dutch farmers between 1799 and 1800. Sitgreaves was successful in his prosecution and the jury in the case found the men guilty oftreason, but a second trial and an eventual pardon fromPresident John Adams saved the rebels from execution.[2]
Sitgreaves returned toEaston, Pennsylvania, where he served as aburgess from 1804 to 1807, helped to found the Easton Library (nowEaston Area Public Library),[3] served as treasurer ofNorthampton County from 1816 to 1819, and resumed the practice of law. He founded Trinity Episcopal Church in Easton on February 9, 1819 and donated land for the church building which was consecrated by Bishop William White in October 1820. He was president of the Easton Bank from 1815 to 1827, and trustee toLafayette College from 1826 to 1827.[4]
He died inEaston, Pennsylvania and was interred initially in the churchyard at Trinity Church and later reinterred inEaston Cemetery after its founding in 1849.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 4th congressional district 1795–1797 alongside:John Richards 1797–1798 | Succeeded by |
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