William Pitt Preble (November 27, 1783 – October 11, 1857) was an American lawyer, judge, diplomat and businessman. He was one of the first Justices of the Maine Supreme Court and U.S. Minister to the Netherlands.
William Pitt Preble was born inYork, Maine (theDistrict of Maine was then a part ofMassachusetts) on November 27, 1783. He graduated fromHarvard University in 1806, received amaster's degree from Harvard in 1809, studied law, and began a practice in York. In 1811 he was appointedCounty Attorney forYork County. First aDemocratic-Republican, and later aDemocrat, in 1814 Preble was namedUnited States Attorney for Maine, and he served until 1820. In 1819 he was a Delegate to theMaine Constitutional Convention which resulted in Maine statehood.[1]
In 1820 Preble was named one of the first Justices of theMaine Supreme Court, holding office until 1828. In 1829PresidentAndrew Jackson appointed Preble asMinister to the Netherlands. This appointment came about because the King of the Netherlands had agreed to mediate between theUnited States andGreat Britain to resolve the question of the border between Maine andNew Brunswick, and Preble's work as a U.S. Attorney and Judge made him knowledgeable on the subject. He served from 1830 to 1831, afterwards returning to the United States to accept appointment as one of the federal commissioners appointed to work with commissioners from Great Britain to resolve other outstanding issues related to the settling of the border question. The entire matter was finally resolved in 1842 by passage of theWebster-Ashburton Treaty.[2][3]
In the 1840s Preble became interested inrailroads, with his primary interest being the construction of a line through the United States andCanada that would connect Portland to theSt. Lawrence River, theGreat Lakes Region and theMississippi River as a way to enhance Portland's trade and commerce. When theSt. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad was incorporated in 1845 Preble was named its President, and he negotiated with governments inEngland, Canada and the United States to obtain rights of way and other concessions needed to accomplish construction and begin operations.[4]
From 1820 to 1842 Preble was a Trustee ofBowdoin College, and Bowdoin awarded him an honoraryLL.D. degree in 1829.[5]
Preble died in Portland on October 11, 1857.[6][7] He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland.
His granddaughterMarian Longfellow O'Donoghue was a founder of the National League of American Pen Women in 1897.[8]
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| Preceded by | U.S. Minister to the Netherlands 1830–1831 | Succeeded by |
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