Leverett Saltonstall (June 13, 1783 – May 8, 1845), was a member of 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 ...

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 ...

who also served as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, President of the Massachusetts Senate, the first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Salem, Massachusetts and a Member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College. Saltonstall was a great-grandfather of Massachusetts Governor and U.S. Senator

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett Atholville Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more th ...

(1892–1979).

Early life and education

Saltonstall was born in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

, June 13, 1783 as a member of the Saltonstall family. He pursued

classical studies Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages ...

, attending

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 16,049 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county ...

, and was graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1802. He studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, and was admitted to the

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

and commenced practice 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 ...

, in 1805.

Salem City Hall

Salem City Hall was built in 1837–1838 under the supervision of Mayor Leverett Saltonstall and a committee appointed for that purpose. The cornerstone was laid on September 6, 1837. Artifacts buried beneath the cornerstone included copies of local newspapers, the Mayor's speech for the organization of City Government (May 9, 1836), and the new City Charter.

Estate of Simon Forrester

Saltonstall, his brother-in-law Dudley Leavitt Pickman and Nathaniel Bowditch all acted as trustees of the estate of Simon Forrester, a ship captain born in Ireland who became one of pioneers of Salem merchant shipping and one of Salem's leading merchants and philanthropists.Simon Forrester, Historical Collections of the Essex Institute, Vol. IV, G.M. Whipple & A.A. Smith, Salem, 1862
/ref>

Positions and offices

*A delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1820. *An unsuccessful candidate for election to the

17th United States Congress The 17th 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. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, ...

in 1820. *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 ...

in 1813, 1814, 1816, 1822, 1829, 1834, and 1844. *Served in 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 ...

, 1817–1819, 1831, and 1832, and was President of the Massachusetts Senate in 1831 and 1832. *Elected 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 1824. *The first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Salem, serving 1836–1837. *Elected as a Whig to the

25th United States Congress The 25th 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, 18 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Stephen C. Phillips, and then reelected to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, serving from December 5, 1838, to March 3, 1843. *

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

for the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy ( Twenty-sixth Congress). *Committee on Manufactures (Twenty-seventh Congress). *Unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Twenty-eighth Congress. *Overseer of

, 1835–1845.

Death and burial

Leverett Saltonstall died in Salem,

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...

, May 8, 1845, and rests in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saltonstall, Leverett I Massachusetts state senators Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard University alumni Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts Mayors of Salem, Massachusetts 1783 births 1845 deaths Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Burials at Harmony Grove Cemetery 19th-century mayors of places in Massachusetts Leverett 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives