Isaac McKim (July 21, 1775 – April 1, 1838) was a U.S. Representative from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, nephew of Alexander McKim. McKim's five terms as a Congressman saw him change parties three times (from Republican to Jackson Republican to Jacksonian).

Early life

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

in the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryl ...

, McKim attended the public schools, and later engaged in mercantile pursuits. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

as aide-de-camp to General Samuel Smith.

Political career

After the war, McKim served as a member of the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from December 4, 1821, until January 8, 1823, when he resigned. McKim was elected as a Democrat to the

Seventeenth Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Samuel Smith. On the same day, McKim was elected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative-elect Smith and served from January 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825. After Congress, McKim served as one of the original director of the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

Co. from 1827 until 1831. McKim returned to Congress, elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses and reelected as a Democrat to the

Twenty-fifth Congress The 25th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 183 ...

. He served from March 4, 1833, until his death in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, on April 1, 1838. He was interred in the burying ground of St. Paul's Church. *

List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) The following is a list of United States senators and representatives who died of natural or accidental causes, or who killed themselves, while serving their terms between 1790 and 1899. For a list of members of Congress who were killed while in ...

Merchant

McKim was a "wealthy sea-dog and merchant" and a leader in the commercial and industrial life of Baltimore. He owned a fleet of merchant ships. Among other businesses he had a copper warehouse on Gay street in Baltimore. Isaac also operated a steam flour mill.

Owner of the ''Ann McKim''

In 1832, he contracted the prestigious Baltimore shipbuilding firm of Kennard & Williamson to build the ship of his dreams, the famous Baltimore clipper ''Ann McKim'', that he named in honor of his wife. It then went on to become the model for many of the clipper ships built over the next 25 years.

Legacy

Isaac McKim finished the building of the first free school in the U.S., McKim Free School, started by his father John McKim. In 1837, Kennard & Williamson built the 163-ton brig ''Isaac McKim'', that was named after McKim. There is a cenotaph in his memory at Congressional Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKim, Isaac 1775 births 1838 deaths Democratic Party Maryland state senators American militiamen in the War of 1812 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people 19th-century American railroad executives United States Army officers Maryland Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland American militia officers