Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn (March 3, 1783 – July 29, 1851) was an American soldier, lawyer, author, and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

. Dearborn was the first President of the

Massachusetts Horticultural Society The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to Mass Hort or MHS, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusettsbr>It describes itself as the oldest formally organized horticultural institution in the United States ...

, a member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

, and the author of many books.

Biography

Early life

Gilbert Stuart - Major-General Henry Dearborn - 1913

Dearborn was the son of

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

and Major General

Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...

by his second wife and named for his father's friend,

Alexander Scammell Alexander Scammell (March 22, 1747 – October 6, 1781) was an American military officer and attorney who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was wounded on September 30, 1781, near Yorktown and subsequently di ...

. Dearborn was married to Hannah Swett Lee, daughter of Colonel William Raymond Lee (1745–1824) of Massachusetts. Dearborn attended the common schools; attended

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 ...

for two years; and graduated from the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

in 1803.

Early career

Dearborn studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

(then part of Massachusetts's

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780, to March 15, 1820, when it was Admission to the Union, admitted to the Union as the List of U.S. states by date of admission to ...

). In 1808 he oversaw the construction of

Fort Preble Fort Preble was a military fort in South Portland, Maine, United States, built in 1808 and progressively added to through 1906. The fort was active during all major wars from the War of 1812 through World War II. The fort was deactivated in 1950. ...

and Fort Scammel in the harbor defenses of Portland. During 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 ...

he commanded volunteers manning the defenses of Boston harbor. He replaced his father as the Collector of the Port of

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 ...

and served from 1813 to 1829. He was promoted to brigadier general in the Massachusetts Militia in 1814. After the war, he was elected captain of the

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world. A volunteer militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusett ...

in 1816. Dearborn was also 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 1815, and a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1823.

Political career

Dearborn was a delegate to the

Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1820–1821 The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1820–1821 met in order to consider amendments to the Constitution of Massachusetts. It resulted in the adoption of the first nine amendments. Several other proposals were rejected. Background Mod ...

. He was a member of the Massachusetts state house of representatives in 1829 and a member of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1830. He was elected as an

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States which evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John ...

Representative from Massachusetts 10th District to the

Twenty-second Congress The 22nd 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, 1831 ...

(1831–1833). He was defeated running for reelection in 1832. He served as adjutant general of the Massachusetts Militia with the rank of major general from 1834 to 1843. He was elected Mayor of

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, in 1846 and served from 1847 to 1851. In 1848, while he was Mayor of Roxbury, Dearborn designed and founded the

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum, and sculpture garden in the Forest Hills section of Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a pu ...

. He also designed

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the first

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 ...

in the nation.

Society of the Cincinnati

In 1832, following the decease of his father, he was admitted to the Massachusetts

. In 1848, following the death of President General William Popham in September 1847, he was elected as President General of the Society. He was the first President General to be a hereditary member rather than a veteran of the Revolution. As President General he proposed changes in the Society's membership rules to allow for descendants of other than original members to join. This provision is known as the Rule of 1854. He died in office in 1851, having served a single three-year term.

Attempted Vice Presidential Nomination

The Native American Party, a precursor to the

Know Nothing The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock Americans, Old Stock Nativism in United States politics, nativist political movem ...

s, which had split from the Whig Party in 1845, met in September 1847 in Philadelphia, where they nominated

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

for president while Dearborn was selected as his running mate. However, when the Whig Party nominated Taylor for the presidency with

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

as his running mate the following year, this rendered his previous nomination moot and the Native American Party failed to make an alternate nomination.

Death and interment

Dearborn died on July 29, 1851, at the age of 68 in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, and is interred in Forest Hills Cemetery in

Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...

Legacy

The ''dearborn'', a light four-wheeled

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

with curtained sides, was named after him (he maintained such a carriage).MetaGlossary.com: Dearborn
Dearborn's nephew was William R. Lee (1807–1891), who was colonel of the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and was breveted to brigadier general after the war. Three successive grade schools in Roxbury have been named after General Dearborn: The first was built in 1852; the second, still standing at 25 Ambrose Street, was built in 1905; and after that closed, the old Roxbury High School was renamed the Dearborn Middle School in 1981. A fourth school, the Dearborn STEM School, is now in the planning stages.

References

History of the Forest Hills Cemetery

Notes

External links

Henry A. S. Dearborn collection
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan. *
Forest Hills Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearborn, Henry Alexander Scammell 1783 births 1851 deaths College of William & Mary alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Salem, Massachusetts People from Exeter, New Hampshire Writers from Portland, Maine Mayors of Roxbury, Massachusetts National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Collectors of the Port of Boston Adjutants General of Massachusetts Williams College alumni 19th-century mayors of places in Massachusetts 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court