John Varnum (June 25, 1778July 23, 1836) was a

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 ...

. He was born in Dracut on June 25, 1778. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1798, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Haverhill. Varnum was elected as a Federalist to the

Massachusetts State 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 ...

. He moved to Lowell. Varnum was elected to the Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Congresses (March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1831) and later moved to Niles in the Michigan Territory where he died July 23, 1836. His interment was in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Personal life

Varnum was the son of Parker Varnum (1747–1824) and his wife, Dorcas Brown Varnum (1754–1800). He was a second cousin, once removed of Joseph Bradley Varnum and

James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the R ...

. He married his first wife, Mary Cooke Saltonstall (1781–1817) on October 9, 1806, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. She was the older sister of

Leverett Saltonstall I Leverett Saltonstall (June 13, 1783 – May 8, 1845), was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts who also served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, President of the Massachusetts Senate, ...

and member of the

Saltonstall family The Saltonstall family is a Boston Brahmin family from the U.S. state of Massachusetts, notable for having had a family member attend Harvard University from every generation since Nathaniel Saltonstall—later one of the more principled judges a ...

. He married secondly, on May 23, 1826, in Washington, D.C., Mary (née Pease) Varnum, widow of James Mitchell Varnum II, his second cousin(and son of Joseph B. Varnum). She was the niece of Calvin Pease and

Gideon Granger Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 – December 31, 1822) was an early American politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and U.S. Representative Francis Granger. Early life Granger was born in Suffield, Connecticut ...

. Varnum also shares a common ancestor, John Prescott (abt. 1604-abt. 1682) with President George H. W. Bush, his son, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, Vice Presidents

Charles W. Fairbanks Charles Warren Fairbanks (May 11, 1852 – June 4, 1918) was an American politician who served as a senator from Indiana from 1897 to 1905 and the 26th vice president of the United States from 1905 to 1909. He was also the Republican vice pre ...

and

Garret Hobart Garret Augustus Hobart (June 3, 1844 – November 21, 1899) was the 24th Vice President of the United States, serving from 1897 until his death in 1899. He was the sixth American vice president to die in office. Prior to serving as vice pre ...

, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, and poet Robert Frost.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varnum, John 1778 births 1836 deaths People from Dracut, Massachusetts Politicians from Lowell, Massachusetts Massachusetts state senators Harvard University alumni Massachusetts Federalists 19th-century American politicians National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts