Thomas Dawes Eliot (March 20, 1808 – June 14, 1870), was a Senator and Congressman of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, and a member of the prominent

Eliot family Eliot family may refer to: * Eliot family (America) * Eliot family (South England) **Earl of St Germans, subsidiary title Baron Eliot See also *Elliot Elliot (also spelled Eliot, Elliotte, Elliott, Eliott and Elyot) is a personal name which c ...

Life and career

Eliot was born on March 20, 1808 in Boston, the son of Margaret Greenleaf (Dawes) and William Greenleaf Eliot. He was named after his grandfather Justice Thomas Dawes of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Eliot attended the public schools of Washington, D.C., and graduated from Columbian College in the District of Columbia, (now George Washington University in 1825. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. In 1834 Eliot married Frances L. Brock of Nantucket. Eliot served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and served in the Massachusetts State Senate. He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Zeno Scudder Zeno Scudder (August 18, 1807 – June 26, 1857) was the son of Deacon Josiah and Hannah Scudder. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. He was born in Osterville, Massachusetts on August 18, 1807. He ...

and served from April 17, 1854, to March 3, 1855. He declined to be a candidate for renomination. Eliot was a delegate to the Free Soil Convention in Worcester in 1855. He declined to be a candidate for nomination by the Republican for Attorney General of Massachusetts in 1857. He was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1869). Eliot served as Chairman of the Committee Freedmen’s Affairs (Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses), and the Committee on Commerce (Fortieth Congress). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1868. He resumed the practice of law and died on June 14, 1870. His interment was in Oak Grove Cemetery. Eliot's daughter Ida M. Eliot was a notable educator and writer. Thomas Eliot's younger brother was philanthropist and Unitarian minister, William Greenleaf Eliot.

References

External links

photograph of Thomas Eliot by Mathew B. Brady

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, Thomas D. Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators George Washington University Law School alumni 1808 births 1870 deaths Massachusetts Whigs Massachusetts Free Soilers Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians