Timothy Childs Jr. (January 1, 1790 – November 25, 1847) 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

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. He represented Monroe County for eight non-consecutive terms in Congress between 1829 and 1843.

Early life

Childs was born in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

, on January 1, 1790. He was the son of Rachel (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Easton) Childs (1760–1852) and Timothy Childs (1748–1821), a Revolutionary War officer who studied at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, became a physician and served in 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 ...

. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1811 and

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

in 1814. He completed his studies at the Albany firm of

Harmanus Bleecker Harmanus Bleecker (October 9, 1779 – July 19, 1849) was an attorney in Albany, New York. A Federalist, he is most notable for his service as a member of the New York State Assembly, a United States representative from New York, and Chargé d'A ...

, afterwards practicing law in

, first in

Canandaigua Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

, and then in Rochester.

Career

Originally a

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 ...

, while residing in Canandaigua, Childs served in offices including Ontario County Commissioner and the judicial position of Master in Chancery. He served as

Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 1821 to 1831, the first to hold this position. He served as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in 1828, and in the late 1820s he also served as Monroe County Judge. Childs was elected as an Anti-Mason to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831). After his term expired he returned to practicing law in Rochester. In 1833, he was elected again to the New York State Assembly. In 1834, he was elected as an

Anti-Jacksonian The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States which evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John ...

to the Twenty-fourth Congress. He was reelected as a Whig in 1836, and served from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1839. During his 1837 to 1839 term, Childs was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department. Childs was elected to Congress again as a Whig in 1840 and served one term, March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843. He resumed practicing law following the completion of his final term in Congress.

Death

In the late 1840s, Childs traveled to

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

, where he went to improve his health. He died aboard the ship ''Emily'' on November 25, 1847, while en route from Saint Croix to the United States.

Personal life

In 1817, he married Catherine Adams. In December 1830 he married Louisa Stewart (

Shepherd) Dickinson of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in a ceremony in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. Louisa was the widow of Joel Dickinson.Charles Poytnz Stewart
Historic Memorials of the Stewarts of Forthergill, Perthshire, and their Male Descendants
1879, page 148

References

External links

Timothy Childs, Jr.
Litchfield Historical Society, The Ledger: A Database of Students of the Litchfield Law School and the Litchfield Female Academy * {{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Timothy 1790 births 1847 deaths Politicians from Pittsfield, Massachusetts New York (state) Federalists Anti-Masonic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) National Republicans National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Rochester, New York Williams College alumni Litchfield Law School alumni People who died at sea Lawyers from Rochester, New York 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives