Elijah Hunt Mills (December 1, 1776May 5, 1829) was an American politician 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 ...

Early life

Mills was born in Chesterfield, Massachusetts. He was educated by private tutors and graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1797. Mills studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

Career

He was the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for

Hampshire County, Massachusetts Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst (due to seasonal student population; the largest y ...

, and opened Northampton Law School in 1823. Mills was also a founding 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 1812. He was a 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 ...

(1811–1814). Mills 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

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

(March 4, 1815 - March 3, 1819). In 1819 he returned to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he became Speaker of the House in 1820. He was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1820 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Prentiss Mellen. Mills was reelected and served from June 12, 1820, to March 3, 1827. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a satirical weekly. * January 17 – The Ballantyne printing business in Edinburgh (Scotland) crashes, ruining noveli ...

. He retired from public life due to ill health.

Personal life

Mills was first married to Sarah Hunt (1780–1802), a daughter of Dr. Ebenezer Hunt and Sarah ( Bradish) Hunt, on May 16, 1802. Sarah died a few months later on October 2, 1802. Mills later married Harriet Blake (1780–1871), a daughter of merchant Joseph Blake and Deborah ( Smith) Blake. With his second wife, Mills was the father of seven children, including: * Helen Sophia Mills (1806–1844), who married Hon. Charles Phelps Huntington. * Sarah Hunt Mills (1808–1887), who married Prof.

Benjamin Peirce Benjamin Peirce (; April 4, 1809 – October 6, 1880) was an American mathematician who taught at Harvard University for approximately 50 years. He made contributions to celestial mechanics, statistics, number theory, algebra, and the philoso ...

, the father of

Charles Sanders Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce ( ; September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American scientist, mathematician, logician, and philosopher who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism". According to philosopher Paul Weiss (philosopher), Paul ...

.Adams, Henry. ''The Life of George Cabot Lodge''. pg. 4-5. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1911 * Elijah Hunt Mills Jr. (1810–1830), who died unmarried in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. * Charles Henry Mills (1813–1872), a merchant who married Anna Cabot Lowell Dwight (1818–1880), a daughters of Edmund Dwight. * William Kilby Mills (1815–1855), an invalid for the last 20 years of his life; he died unmarried. * Harriette Blake Mills (1818–1892), who married Admiral

Charles Henry Davis Charles Henry Davis ( – ) was a Autodidacticism, self-educated American astronomer and Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral of the United States Navy. While working for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, United States Coast ...

. * George Francis Mills (1821–1829), who died young. Mills died on May 5, 1829, in Northampton, and was interred in the Bridge Street Cemetery. His widow died at Cambridge on February 9, 1871.

Descendants

Through his daughter Harriette, he was a grandfather of Anna Cabot Mills Davis, who married U.S. Senator

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...

. One of their sons, poet George Cabot Lodge, was the father of U.S. Senators Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and John Davis Lodge.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Elijah H 1776 births 1829 deaths People from Chesterfield, Massachusetts American people of English descent Massachusetts National Republicans Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Federalist Party United States senators from Massachusetts National Republican Party United States senators from Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives County district attorneys in Massachusetts Williams College alumni 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators