Thomas Weston Thompson (March 15, 1766October 1, 1821) was an American attorney and

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

politician in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He served as 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

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

during the 1800s.

Early life and career

Thompson was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

, the son of Thomas and Isabella Thompson. The family moved to

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...

, when Thompson was young. He attended Dummer Academy in

Byfield, Massachusetts Byfield is a village (also referred to as a "parish") in the town of Newbury, Massachusetts, Newbury, in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It borders West Newbury, Massachusetts, West Newbury, Georgetown, ...

, and served as an aide to General Lincoln during

Shays' Rebellion Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...

. Thompson 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 1786 and began studying for the ministry. He was a tutor at Harvard from 1789 to 1791. He

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1791 and practiced law in

Salisbury, New Hampshire Salisbury is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2020 census. History While still part of Massachusetts, the town was granted as "Baker's Town" after Captain Thomas Baker in 1736. After the ...

, from 1791 to 1810. Among the younger men he mentored was

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

, who started as a law apprentice with him around 1801. Thompson was appointed

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Salisbury, serving from 1798 to 1803. He served for more than two decades as a trustee of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, from 1801 to 1821.

Political career

In 1810, Thompson moved to

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

where he continued the practice of law. He was elected as a member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

, serving from 1807 to 1808. He was treasurer of New Hampshire in 1810. He was reelected to serve in the State House from 1813 to 1814 and elected Speaker. Thompson was elected as a Federalist to the Ninth U.S. Congress, serving from March 4, 1805, to March 3, 1807. He was appointed state treasurer of New Hampshire from 1809 to 1811. Thompson was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Nicholas Gilman, serving from June 24, 1814, to March 3, 1817. He died in Concord in 1821; interment was in the Old North Cemetery.

Personal life

Thompson married Elizabeth C. Porter on December 25, 1796. They had two sons, William Coombs Thompson and Charles Edward Thompson.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Thomas 1766 births 1821 deaths Politicians from Boston Politicians from Newburyport, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni New Hampshire postmasters Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Speakers of the New Hampshire House of Representatives United States senators from New Hampshire Federalist Party United States senators Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire Lawyers from Boston American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American lawyers The Governor's Academy alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court