Abijah Bigelow (December 5, 1775 – April 5, 1860) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

. Born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

, the son of Elisha and Sarah (Goodridge) Bigelow, Abijah Bigelow studied at Leicester (Massachusetts) Academy and New Ipswich Academy at

New Ipswich, New Hampshire New Ipswich is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts bo ...

. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

, in 1795. He studied law in

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. An affluent bedroom community roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a ...

. He was admitted to the Worcester County bar in 1798 and commenced practice in Leominster, Massachusetts, in the same year. He was

town clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

of Leominster 1803–1809. He served as member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

1807–1809. He was a Justice of the Peace 1809-1860 and justice of the quorum 1812–1860. Bigelow was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the Eleventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Stedman. He was reelected to the Twelfth and

Thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is th ...

Congresses and served from October 8, 1810, to March 3, 1815. He viewed the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

in a decidedly negative light. Bigelow moved to Worcester in 1817, and served as clerk of the courts of Worcester County 1817–1833. He resumed the practice of law, and served as trustee of

Leicester Academy Leicester Academy was a private, state chartered school in Leicester, Massachusetts. History Leicester Academy was founded on March 23, 1784, when the Act of Incorporation for Leicester Academy was passed by the Massachusetts General Court as a ...

in 1819-1820 and as treasurer 1820–1853. He was appointed a master in

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

in 1838. He died in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, April 5, 1860, and was interred in the

Rural Cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

. Bigelow 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 in ...

in 1813, and subsequently served on its board of councilors from 1817 to 1828. The Antiquarian Society also holds a collection of manuscripts generated by Abijah and his extended family from 1785 to 1883. His correspondence with his wife Hannah Gardner Bigelow (1780–1857) while he was a congressman was also published in 1930 in volume 40 of the ''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society'', with the title "The Letters of Abijah Bigelow, Member of Congress, to his Wife, 1810-1815.""Letters of Abijah Bigelow, Member of Congress, to his Wife, 1810-1815."
''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society'' 40: 305-406. 1930 Abijah and his wife Hannah had nine children, seven of whom survived their father. Hannah Bigelow's brother Francis was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigelow, Abijah 1775 births 1860 deaths People from Westminster, Massachusetts People from colonial Massachusetts Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Leicester Academy alumni Dartmouth College alumni Burials at Rural Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court