Charles Hudson (November 14, 1795 – May 4, 1881) was an American minister, writer, historian and politician. Hudson served in both houses of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

, on the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Counc ...

, and as

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Early life

Hudson was born in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

on November 14, 1795. Hudson was the son of Stephen Hudson, who served during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, having been captured and confined by the British in Philadelphia.

Education

Hudson attended the common schools and later an academy, taught school, 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 ...

and studied theology. Hudson was ordained as a Universalist minister in 1819 and located in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, where he served as pastor for 20 years.

Public service

Hudson was elected a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

, where he represented the town of

Westminster, Massachusetts Westminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 8,213. History Westminster was first settled by Europeans in 1737, and was officially incorporated in 1759. Westmin ...

from 1828 to 1833. From 1833 to 1839 Hudson represented Worcester County in the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. In 1839 he became a member of the Executive Council, and served until 1841. He was a member of the Massachusetts State Board of Education. Hudson was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Levi Lincoln, Jr. Hudson was reelected to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses and served from May 3, 1841, to March 3, 1849. Hudson was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1848 to the

Thirty-first Congress The 31st 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, 1849, ...

, and moved to Lexington. Hudson lived in a large house on the town Common ("Battle Green"), about where the driveway of the Hancock Church is today. The house was moved to Belfry Terrace in the early 1900s. Hudson served as a selectman of Lexington from 1868 to 1875, and wrote a comprehensive history of the town, first published 1868. Hudson presided at the centennial celebration of the

battle of Lexington The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, ...

in 1875, and delivered an address. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1844. From 1849 to 1853 Hudson served as a naval officer of the port of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Custom House, edited the Boston Daily Atlas for many years. Hudson was the assessor of Internal Revenue for the Sixth Collection District, 1864-1868. Hudson was reportedly a close friend of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. Hudson was an author of religious textbooks.

Death and burial

Hudson died in Lexington on May 4, 1881. Interment was in Munroe Cemetery, on Massachusetts Avenue in that town.

Hudson, Massachusetts

The town of

Hudson, Massachusetts Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a neighborhood and unincorporated village of Marlborough, Massa ...

is named after Charles Hudson. Though many mistakenly believe that the naming of the town was the result of his gift toward the construction of a public library, in fact, the naming honor was granted prior to his offer. The town was established on March 31, 1866, and after being notified that the town had been named in his honor, Charles Hudson responded in 1867 with an offer to contribute $500 in matching funds toward the establishment of a new library.

Publications

* ''Letters to Rev.

Hosea Ballou Hosea Ballou D.D. (April 30, 1771 – June 7, 1852) was an American Universalist clergyman and theological writer. Originally a Baptist, he converted to Universalism in 1789. He preached in a number of towns in Vermont, New Hampshire, and ...

'' (1827) * ''Reply to Walter Balfour'' (1829) * ''History of Westminster'' (Boston, 1832) * ''Doubts Concerning the Battle of Bunker Hill'' (1857) * ''Historical Address at the Centennial at Westminster'' (1859) * ''History of Marlborough'' (1862) * ''History of Lexington'', with ''Genealogical Register of Lexington Families'' (1868) Hudson prepared congressional reports on the “Protective Policy,” legislative reports on “Capital Punishment,” “The Northeastern Boundary,” and “The Incompetency of Witnesses on Account of Religious Belief,” besides articles for periodicals and newspapers.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Charles 1795 births 1881 deaths Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators People from Marlborough, Massachusetts American newspaper editors Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Christian universalist clergy Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians People from Lexington, Massachusetts People from Westminster, Massachusetts Burials in Massachusetts Members of the American Antiquarian Society