Daniel Appleton White
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Daniel Appleton White (7 June 1776 – 30 March 1861) was an American statesman,
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, and
Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
of
Probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...
in
Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...
during the nineteenth century. He was elected as a member of the
Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
and later elected to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
but he resigned from the position to become the Judge of Probate for Essex County—a position he held for 38 years. As well as making a successful political and legal career in his own right, Daniel White is a descendant of William White, who settled in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
in 1635 and was a founding father of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1640.


Early life and family


Birth

Daniel White was born on 7 June 1776 in
Methuen, Massachusetts Methuen () is a 23-square-mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Midd ...
to John and Elizabeth (Haynes) White.


Education

He graduated with a law degree in
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1797. In 1837, some 40 years after he first graduated from
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
, the university awarded him the
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of LLD in recognition of his achievements in the field.


Family

White married three times altogether. He married his first wife, Mary van Schalkwyck (the daughter of Dr Josiah Wilder), on 24 May 1807 and had two daughters with him. Some years after van Schalkwyck's death on 29 June 1811, White married Eliza Wetmore (the daughter of William Orne) on 1 August 1819 in Salem. Like his White's first wife, Wetmore died very soon after marrying him. White was made a
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...
er for the second time after Eliza's death on 27 March 1821. Before her death, though, White and Wetmore had a son together named Henry. White's third and final wife was Ruth Rogers whom he married on 24 January 1824. White and Rogers remained married until White's death in March 1861.


Political and legal career


Massachusetts Senate

White was a member of the
Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
from 1810 to 1815.


Congress

In November 1814, he was elected to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
as the
Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...
's nomination for the District of Essex North. Being offered the position as Judge of Probate for the
County of Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
in 1815, he decided to resign from his position with Congress to take up the role despite protests from some of his friends.


Judge of Probate

As well as making strides in legal and political spheres, he was influential in the founding of the Essex Institute in Salem which, in turn, played a significant role in establishing the Essex Historical and Natural-Historical Societies. Appointed by Governor Strong in November 1815, White remained the county's judge of probate until 1 July 1853 after 38 years on the bench—longer than any of his predecessors. He ultimately played a significant role in the
Probate Court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...
, and legal society generally, throughout his career.


Essex County Lyceum and the Essex Institute

White was a founding member of the Essex County Lyceum, 'the pioneer in the system of public lectures and... romisedto be potent among the educational and moral influences of the time.'Hurd, Duane Hamilton, ed. (1888). ''History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men''. UMass Amherst Libraries. Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co. p. xxvi. Although not its founder, he was the president of the Essex Institute from its formation in 1848 until his death.


Death and burial

Having moved from
Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The m ...
on 3 January 1817, Daniel eventually died in Salem on 30 March 1861.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Daniel Appleton 1776 births 1861 deaths 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Harmony Grove Cemetery Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state senators 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court