Abijah Cheever (May 23, 1760 – April 21, 1843) was an American

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron work ...

Early life

Cheever was born on May 23, 1760, in Saugus. He was a descendant of

Ezekiel Cheever Ezekiel Cheever (1614–1708) was a schoolmaster, and the author of "probably the earliest American school book", ''Accidence, A Short Introduction to the Latin Tongue''. Upon his death, it was said that "New England adnever known a better te ...

, longtime headmaster of the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

. Cheever spent much of his youth working on his family's farm.

American Revolution

On the evening before the

Battle of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Colonies. Day-long running battl ...

, Cheever ran bullets from a mold over a fire for the muskets of his brothers, who took part in the battle the following day. In 1779 Cheever graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. He then studied medicine and surgery under John Warren and obtained his M. D. in 1782. On May 13, 1782 Cheever was commissioned as a surgeon aboard the ''Tartar'', a ship fitted by the

Commonwealth of 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 ...

for service in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. On the ship's second voyage, it was captured by and Cheever was sent to a

prison ship A prison ship, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoner of war, prisoners of war or civilian internees. Some prison ships were hulk (ship type), hulked. W ...

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

. Once the war ended, Cheever was exchanged and returned to Massachusetts.

Boston

After the war, Cheever settled in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

's North End, where he worked as a physician and surgeon. On July 5, 1789, he married Elizabeth Scott. The couple had three children before her death on July 5, 1795. On October 16, 1798, he married Sally Williams, with whom he had two children.

Return to Saugus

Cheever returned to Saugus in 1806 and remained there for the rest of his life. Cheever was one of Saugus' largest land owners with over two-hundred acres. He was also one of Saugus' few slaveholders. On his family's land, he built an elegant home that became well known throughout the region. In 1815, Cheever was elected to Saugus' first Board of Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of the Poor. In 1821, 1829, 1830, and 1831, Cheever represented Saugus in 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 ...

. During his political career, Cheever frequently competed with his brother

Joseph Cheever Joseph Cheever (February 22, 1772 – June 19, 1872) was an American farmer and politician who held office in Saugus, Massachusetts. Cheever was born on February 22, 1772. In 1816, he became Saugus' first Town Treasurer. He represented Saugus ...

. Cheever died on April 21, 1843.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheever, Abijah 1760 births 1843 deaths American military doctors Physicians from Massachusetts American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain American surgeons Harvard College alumni Massachusetts Federalists Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from North End, Boston People from Saugus, Massachusetts Boston Latin School alumni U.S. state legislators who owned slaves 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court