Charles Stetson (November 2, 1801 – March 27, 1883) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, and the eldest member of a powerful Bangor political family. He was born in

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 ...

, on November 2, 1801, but moved with his parents to

Hampden, Maine Hampden is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,709 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Hampden is part of the Bangor, Maine, Bangor metropolita ...

, in 1802. His father Simeon Stetson (b.

Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree () is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is officially known as a town, but Braintree is a city with a mayor-council form of government, and it is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The populat ...

) kept a store and a sawmill, and built vessels for the West India Trade. His uncle Amasa Stetson was proprietor of the nearby town of

Stetson, Maine Stetson is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,186 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was named after its first proprietor, Amasa Stetson. His brother Simeon Stetson orig ...

, where Simeon had briefly settled before moving to Hampden.Chase, Henry. "Isaiah K. Stetson" in
Representative Men of Maine
' (Portland, 1893)
Page 175
Stetson was 13 years old when a British invasion force sacked the town of Hampden and terrorized its inhabitants following the

Battle of Hampden The Battle of Hampden was an action in the British campaign to conquer present-day Maine and remake it into the colony of New Ireland during the War of 1812. Sir John Sherbrooke led a British force from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to establish New I ...

(1814). He subsequently attended

Hampden Academy Hampden Academy is a public high school located at 89 Western Avenue in Hampden, Maine, United States. The school is a part of Regional School Unit #22 (R.S.U. 22), with approximately 708 students from Hampden, Newburgh, Frankfort and Winterp ...

and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1823. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Hampden in 1826.

Legal and political career

Stetson was admitted to the bar of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in 1828, then held various local offices. He moved to Bangor, adjoining Hampden, in 1833, as that city grew rapidly into the region's largest port. He was appointed Judge of the Bangor Municipal Court (1834–1839), Member of the Common Council of Bangor (1843–1844), and a Member of the

Executive Council of Maine The Executive Council of Maine was a government body established with the Maine Constitution in 1820 and dissolved in 1977 via a 1975 statewide referendum. It was made up of seven members, traditionally defeated members of the majority legislative ...

(1845–1848). Stetson was finally elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

Thirty-first United States 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, ...

(March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851).''History of Penobscot County, Maine'' (Cleveland, 1882), p. 210. Stetson was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the Thirty-second Congress, and resumed the practice of law in Bangor. He affiliated with the Republican Party in 1860, as had most local politicians, including fellow Hampdenite

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American politician and diplomat who was the 15th vice president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republi ...

, who became Lincoln's Vice President. Stetson died in Bangor March 27, 1883, and was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor.

Stetson Family

Stetson was married to Emily Jane Pierce, the daughter of Waldo Pierce of

Frankfort, Maine Frankfort is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,231 at the 2020 census. History Frankfort is the oldest town on the Penobscot River, first settled in the 1760s by Massachusetts s ...

. The Stetsons became a powerful Bangor mercantile and political family in Charles' lifetime and beyond. Stetson's younger brother, Isaiah Stetson (1812–1880), served as Mayor of Bangor (1859–1862), and Member the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

(1866–67). His other brother George Stetson (1807–1891) became a leading Bangor lumber merchant, shipbuilder, bank & insurance company president, and civic figure, and married the niece of future Vice President

. George also served in the

(1863–64). George's son Isaiah Kidder Stetson (b. 1858, Yale class of 1879) expanded his father's business interests into ice harvesting, and became Speaker of the

(1899–1900) and a member of the

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

(1903–1906). Charles' daughter Caroline Pierce Stetson married attorney Franklin A. Wilson, who also represented Bangor in the

(1874–75) and subsequently became President of the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad was a United States, U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expand ...

. His son (Charles Stetson's grandson and namesake) Charles Stetson Wilson became U.S. Ambassador to (respectively)

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, Romania, and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in the 1920s and early 1930s. There are two Stetson Blocks in downtown Bangor. The Stetson Block on Exchange Street was burned in the

Great Fire of 1911 The Great Fire of 1911 took place in Bangor, Maine, United States, on April 30 and May 1, 1911. A small fire that started in a downtown shed went out of control and destroyed hundreds of commercial and residential buildings. History It started ...

and quickly replaced by a building of the same name, and in the same location, from a design by local architect Wilfred E. Mansur. A second and larger Stetson Block was built in 1913 on Central Street, from a design by Parker, Thomas, and Rice of Boston. It presently houses "Bagel Central". Both buildings are currently protected as part of the

National Register Historic District. The lower part of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

is also known as "Stetson Square". The George Stetson House at 208 French St. in Bangor is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as part of the Broadway Historic District. This

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style house was designed by local architect-builder Benjamin S. Deane in 1847-48.

References

External links

*
Stetson Family Business records
at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School {{DEFAULTSORT:Stetson, Charles 1801 births 1863 deaths People from New Ipswich, New Hampshire Politicians from Hampden, Maine Bangor City Council members Yale College alumni Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine) Members of the Executive Council of Maine Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Hampden Academy alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature