Samuel Maclay (June 17, 1741October 5, 1811) was an American politician from

Union County, Pennsylvania Union County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 42,681. Its county seat is Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Lewisburg. ...

. He served in the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

and represented

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in both the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

and 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 ...

Biography

Maclay was born the younger brother of future Pennsylvania senator William Maclay. He was born in Lurgan Township in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

at Maclay's Mill and served in the Revolutionary War. Maclay came to the Buffalo Valley in Union County in 1769, then in Cumberland and Berks Counties, to perform some of the first surveys, along with and under the supervision of brother William, in "the new purchase" of land made by the Penn Family pursuant to the Treaty at Fort Stanwix in 1768. In 1790, Maclay performed work as a surveyor of the streams of northwestern Pennsylvania, equating to something of a "Lewis & Clark Expedition" of the dangerous interior wilds of Pennsylvania. He became an associate judge of

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Cha ...

and served between 1792 and 1795. Maclay was the father of

William Plunkett Maclay William Plunkett Maclay (August 23, 1774 – September 2, 1842) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. William P. Maclay (son of Samuel Maclay and nephew of William Maclay (Pennsylvania senator), William Ma ...

Political life

Maclay was elected to the Fourth Congress. He served as a member of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the State legislature in 1797 and was a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

from 1798 to 1802 and served as speaker from 1801 to 1802. He was elected to the United States Senate as a Democratic-Republican by the Pennsylvania legislature and began service in 1803. Popular among Pennsylvanians, he was an infrequent Senate speaker but was frequently mentioned as his party's possible candidate for governor, but was passed over in favor of

Simon Snyder Simon Snyder (November 5, 1759November 9, 1819) was the third governor of Pennsylvania, serving three terms from 1808 to 1817. He led the state through the War of 1812. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Snyder established a gristmill in Selins ...

. Maclay opposed the nomination of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

to the presidency by the Democratic-Republicans. He doubted how committed Madison was to the party, considering him a late convert, and backed George Clinton instead. Furthermore, Maclay was an opponent of the Embargo Act which had been passed during President Jefferson's second term. Despite the eventual repeal of the Embargo Act, Madison secured Pennsylvania's support and Maclay realized that he was out of step with his fellow party members and Pennsylvanians. Seeing no hope of reelection, he resigned from the Senate in 1809. Maclay served in the Senate from March 4, 1803, until his resignation on January 4, 1809. He retired to Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania, where he died, at age 70. He was interred in the Driesbach Church Cemetery in Union County.

Bibliography

*American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Aurand, A. Monroe, Jr. ''The Genealogy of Samuel Maclay, 1741–1811''.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

: Aurand Press, 1938; *Maclay, Samuel. ''Journal of Samuel Maclay''.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

: Gazette & Bulletin Printing House, 1887.

External links

The Political Graveyard''Union County, Pennsylvania: A Celebration of History''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclay, Samuel 1741 births 1811 deaths Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Franklin County, Pennsylvania People from Union County, Pennsylvania United States senators from Pennsylvania Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

19th-century United States senators 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 18th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly