Stephen Clarendon Phillips (November 4, 1801 – June 26, 1857) was a

U.S. Representative 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 ...

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 ...

. Phillips was born 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 ...

, to Stephen and Dorcas (Woodbridge) Phillips. He was a descendant of Rev. George Phillips of Watertown, the progenitor of the New England Phillips family in America. He 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 1819. Phillips' engaged in mercantile pursuits in Salem, and was 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 ...

from 1824 to 1829. He then served in the Massachusetts State Senate in 1830. Phillips was elected as a National Republican to the Twenty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Rufus Choate. He was reelected as a National Republican to the Twenty-fourth Congress, and elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth Congress serving from December 1, 1834, to September 28, 1838, when he resigned. Phillips was mayor of Salem from 1838 to 1842, but was defeated as the Free Soil candidate for governor in 1848 and 1849. He engaged in the lumber business in Canada. He perished in the burning of the steamer ''Montreal'' on the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

on June 26, 1857, near

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

.Sydney Morning Herald
/ref> His body was never found, but there is a monument to him in Harmony Grove Cemetery in Salem.

References

1801 births 1857 deaths Harvard University alumni Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators Mayors of Salem, Massachusetts National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Massachusetts Free Soilers Phillips family (New England) Accidental deaths in Quebec Deaths due to ship fires National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century mayors of places in Massachusetts 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub