Luther Severance (October 26, 1797 – January 25, 1855) 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 ...

and diplomat 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 ...

Life

He was born in

Montague, Massachusetts Montague is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,580 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statistical area. The villages of Montague Center, Montague City, Lake ...

on October 26, 1797. He moved with his parents to

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, Theophile Cazenove, th ...

in 1799. He attended the common schools, and learned the printer's trade in

Peterboro, New York Peterboro, located approximately southeast of Syracuse, New York, is a historic Hamlet (New York), hamlet and currently the administrative center for the Smithfield, New York, Town of Smithfield, Madison County, New York, Madison County, New Y ...

. He established the

Kennebec Journal The ''Kennebec Journal'' (''KJ'') is a six-day morning daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or g ...

Augusta, Maine Augusta is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Maine. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Maine, 12th-most populous city in Maine, and third ...

in 1825. He was elected a member of 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 ...

, and served in 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 ...

. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses in 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, 1843–March 3, 1847). He was vice president of the Whig National Convention in 1848. He served as

United States commissioner United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

(

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, Seating plan, t ...

similar to that of

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

) to the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

1850 through the end of 1853. He died in

on January 25, 1855. His interment was in Forest Grove Cemetery.

Family

Severance married Anna Hamlin (May 31, 1801 – April 2, 1887), daughter of Theophilus and Sarah Rockwood Hamlin, on October 12, 1827. They had three children: #Henry Weld Severance (July 12, 1828 – February 11, 1908), who married Hannah Swann Child. He became the Hawaiian Consul for San Francisco. #Anna Severance (April 12, 1831 – June 20, 1912), who married Marshal of the Kingdom of Hawaii William Cooper Parke #Luther Severance (June 1, 1836 – July 8, 1917), who married Lucinda Maria Clark, daughter of Ephraim Weston Clark. He settled in Honolulu and later

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

where he served as Postmaster of Hilo

References

External links

* 1797 births 1855 deaths Politicians from Augusta, Maine People from Montague, Massachusetts People from Cazenovia, New York Ambassadors of the United States to Hawaii Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine People from Peterboro, New York 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-politician-stub