Samuel Douglas (1781 – July 8, 1833) was an American lawyer who served as the

Pennsylvania Attorney General The Pennsylvania attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current attorney general is Republican Dave Sunday (politician), Dave ...

Personal life and career

Douglas was born in Ireland, the son of Henry Douglas and Jane Blair, a descendant of the Scottish warlord known as the "Black Douglas". He was educated in Scotland, and came to America when he was about seventeen. He joined his older brother, the Reverend Joseph Douglas, who was living in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Douglas studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1804. In 1817, Douglas ran for Congress against Henry Baldwin and lost. That year he moved to

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, where he met Louisa Wyeth, whom he married shortly afterwards. In 1819, Douglas was appointed Deputy Attorney General for Dauphin County. He was appointed Attorney General in 1830. His term ended in 1833, and he died that summer.

Personal life and career

References

Further reading