Samuel Holten | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Oil-on-ivory miniature, circa 1790 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | |
| Preceded by | Fisher Ames |
| Succeeded by | Theodore Sedgwick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1738-06-09)June 9, 1738 Salem Village, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America |
| Died | January 2, 1816(1816-01-02) (aged 77) Danvers, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | Holton Cemetery, Danvers |
| Political party | Anti-Administration |
| Spouse | Mary Warner |
| Children | 3 |
Samuel Holten (June 9, 1738 – January 2, 1816) was an AmericanFounding Father, physician, jurist, and politician fromDanvers, Massachusetts. Holten represented theMassachusetts Bay Colony as a delegate to theContinental Congress, where he signed theArticles of Confederation. After numerous roles at the state and national levels in the 1780s, Holten was elected to a term inU.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1793 to 1794. He then was appointed judge in the local courts, a position he held for nearly two decades.
Holten was born in Salem Village (now Danvers) in theProvince of Massachusetts Bay on June 9, 1738. After studying medicine under a local physician, he established a practice in nearbyGloucester. He soon returned to Danvers, where he continued practicing as a physician.
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During theAmerican Revolution, Holten actively supported thePatriot cause, serving in the militia as a major in the First Essex County Regiment. He was a member of theMassachusetts Provincial Congress from 1774 to 1775, at which point he was named to the MassachusettsCommittee of Safety. Holten was appointed to the Continental Congress in 1778, when he signed the Articles of Confederation. He left the Congress in 1780 and then served in theMassachusetts Senate for two years. From 1780 to 1782, Holten was also a member of theMassachusetts Governor's Council, a role he repeated in eight of the next 14 years.
In 1783, Holten was appointed to theCongress of the Confederation, which under the Articles was the new nation's only branch of government. Near the end of his two years in the Congress, Holten served briefly as its chairman: "His Excellency the president, being, by indisposition, prevented from attending the House, Congress proceeded to the election of a Chairman, and, the ballots being taken, the (honorable) Samuel Holten was elected."[1]
Holten returned to the state Senate in 1784, completing additional terms in 1786, 1789, and 1790. In between, in 1787, he served in theMassachusetts House of Representatives and also returned to the Congress of the Confederation for another year. In 1788 and 1790, Holten was an unsuccessful candidate for the2nd congressional district, and he was also an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1790;[2][3][4] however, he was elected to represent the1st district in 1792. After leaving the Congress, Holten was appointed judge of theEssex County Probate Court. He sat on the bench from 1796 until his resignation in 1815. Holten also served as the treasurer of the First Church of Danvers for forty years.[5]
Holten died in Danvers on January 2, 1816. He was buried at Holten Cemetery in Danvers.[6]
In 1974 the Danvers Historical Commission placed a plaque in front of his house listing his achievements, the street has also been named in his honor.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 1st congressional district March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
