Samuel Atkins Eliot | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's1st district | |
| In office August 22, 1850 – March 3, 1851 | |
| Preceded by | Robert C. Winthrop |
| Succeeded by | William Appleton |
| Member of theMassachusetts Senate | |
| In office 1843–1844 | |
| 7thMayor of Boston, Massachusetts | |
| In office 1837–1840 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel T. Armstrong |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Chapman |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1834–1837 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1798-03-05)March 5, 1798 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1862(1862-01-29) (aged 63) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig |
| Children | 6, includingCharles |
| Parent | Samuel Eliot |
| Relatives | Eliot family |
| Education | Harvard University |
Samuel Atkins Eliot (March 5, 1798 – January 29, 1862) was a member of the notableEliot family ofBoston, Massachusetts, who served in political positions at the local, state and national levels.[1]
Eliot was born inBoston, Massachusetts in 1798. He was the son of bankerSamuel Eliot and Catherine Atkins Eliot, and was related to CongressmanThomas Hopkinson Eliot. He attended theBoston Latin School, and graduated fromHarvard College in 1817 and fromHarvard Divinity School in 1820. His father had wanted to see him become a minister, but he died the year of his graduation and Samuel stopped short of the pulpit. Instead he traveled Europe for two years, gaining great knowledge in music and singing, and developing interests in parks and playgrounds.[2]
His interest in music led him to become president of theBoston Academy of Music from 1834 to 1847. As an influential member of the Boston school committee, he was successful in placing music in the curriculum of all public schools. With his brother William he founded the Union Church inNahant,Massachusetts. Eliot built in 1827 a classical Greek revival summer home at 40 Steps Beach on Nahant Road. The Eliot family along with their son Charles W. Eliot, future President of Harvard, spent their summers until 1850 when the property was sold to the Mifflin Family.[3]He served as the first president of the Boston Provident Association, one of the first organizations to aid the poor. He assisted developing the Prison Discipline Society, becoming its treasurer and president to reduce the miserable conditions found in the houses of correction.[4][5]
He was a member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives from 1834 to 1837. Elected three consecutive terms between 1837 and 1840 asMayor of Boston.[6] During his administration a riot took place, caused by a collision between a volunteer fire company and an Irish funeral procession. The disturbance was suppressed by the promptness of Mayor Eliot, who was on the ground at the first alarm, and immediately took measures for calling out the militia. The result of this affair was the establishment of a paid fire department and a day police.[7]
Eliot served in theMassachusetts Senate in 1843–1844. He was elected as a Whig to the31st United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofRobert C. Winthrop, and served from August 22, 1850, to March 3, 1851; he declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1850.
He was Treasurer of Harvard University from 1842 to 1853.
He published aSketch of the History of Harvard College and of its Present State (Boston, 1848), and additionally was editor forThe Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself and also edited selections from the sermons ofDr. Francis W. P. Greenwood, with a memoir (2 vols., Boston, 1844). He contributed writings to theNorth American Review and theChristian Examiner.
On June 13, 1826, he married Mary Lyman, the daughter ofTheodore Lyman I (1753–1839) born inYork, Maine, and his second wife Lydia Pickering Williams ofSalem, Massachusetts, the daughter of George Williams and niece of ColonelTimothy Pickering, the thirdUnited States Secretary of State under PresidentsGeorge Washington andJohn Adams.
Lyman became prosperous in the East India trade and an influential merchant in Boston, building a country estate known as the "Vale" (Lyman Estate) in Waltham, Massachusetts, where his daughter Mary and Samuel would be married. The East Side Ballroom was added to the house for their wedding. The marriage produced four daughters and two sons, includingCharles William Eliot, a future president of Harvard University.[8][9][10][11]
Between 1829 and 1830 he built a lavish house at 31 Beacon Street, now the western edge of theMassachusetts Statehouse lawn.[2]
He died inCambridge, Massachusetts on January 29, 1862, and his body was interred inMount Auburn Cemetery.[12]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts 1837–1839 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 1st congressional district August 22, 1850 – March 3, 1851 | Succeeded by |
