Charles Cutts (January 31, 1769January 25, 1846) was an attorney and politician from

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

. Among the offices in which he served were Speaker 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 legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

and

Secretary of the United States Senate The secretary of the Senate is an officer of the United States Senate. The secretary supervises an extensive array of offices and services to expedite the day-to-day operations of that body. The office is somewhat analogous to that of the clerk ...

Early life

Cutts was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on January 31, 1769, the son of Samuel Cutts and Anna Holyoke. He was educated in Portsmouth and

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, Andover, MA, and attended

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

, from which he graduated in 1789. During his college years, Cutts was selected for membership in

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. After graduating, Cutts studied law with attorney

John Pickering John Pickering may refer to: * John Pickering (dramatist), author of the play ''Horestes'' first published in 1567 * John Pickering (MP) (1585–1628), MP for Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency), Northamptonshire, 1626 * John Pickering (s ...

, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1795, and practiced in Portsmouth. Active in politics as 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 called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, Cutts was a member of the

from 1803 to 1811. He served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

from 1807 to 1809, and again from 1810 to 1811.

U.S. Senator

In 1810, Cutts was elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Nahum Parker Nahum Parker (March 4, 1760November 12, 1839) was a United States senator from New Hampshire. Parker was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. During the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War he served in the Continental Army at the Battle ...

, and he served from June 21, 1810 to March 3, 1813. Because Congressional sessions began in December, when the state legislature was not in session, Cutts completed his final New Hampshire House term and term as Speaker, which ended in early 1811. The

New Hampshire General Court The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 membe ...

failed to elect a successor for the term that began on March 4, 1813, so Governor

William Plumer William Plumer (June 25, 1759December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician from Epping, New Hampshire. He is most notable for his service as a Federalist in the United States Senate (1802–1807), and the sevent ...

appointed Cutts, who served from April 2, 1813 to June 10, 1813, when a successor was elected. While Cutts served in the Senate, the federal government was concerned with prosecuting the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and then beginning the post-war recovery. Cutts was appointed to several select committees concerned with the finance and the economy, foreign trade, and military defense, and frequently served as chairman.

Later life

Cutts remained in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

after leaving office. In 1814 he was elected to serve as

, and he held the position from October 12, 1814 to December 12, 1825. As Secretary, Cutts oversaw preparations for the Senate's move from its temporary downtown quarters in the Patent Office, which had been necessitated by the burning of the US Capitol during the

to the hastily erected "Brick Capitol", a building which was located on the site of the current US Supreme Court Building. Following that move, Cutts planned the move of the Senate back into the Capitol, which took place in 1819. In retirement, Cutts moved to

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, and eventually settled in Lewinsville. He died in Lewinsville on January 25, 1846, and was buried in a private cemetery near Lewinsville.

Family

Cutts' mother was the daughter of

Edward Holyoke Edward Holyoke (June 26, 1689 – June 1, 1769) was an American Congregational clergyman, slaveowner, and the 9th President of Harvard College. Biography Edward Holyoke was the son of a wealthy and influential businessman, Elizur Holyoke Jr, ...

and the sister of

Edward Augustus Holyoke Edward Augustus Holyoke (August 1, 1728 – March 31, 1829) was an American educator and physician. Biography Edward Augustus was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Marblehead, Province of Massachusetts Bay, on August 1, 1728. His father was th ...

. In 1812, Cutts married Lucy Henry Southall (d. 1868), a descendant of

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...

and the niece of

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

's wife

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

. Their children included Stephen (b. 1813), Samuel (b. 1815), and Martha (b. 1817). Another daughter, Priscilla Olive, died as an infant. Charles Cutts was the cousin of

Richard Cutts Richard Cutts (June 28, 1771 – April 7, 1845) was an American merchant and politician. A Democratic-Republican, he was most notable for his service as Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1817 to 1829 and a United States repr ...

, who served in Congress from the portion of Massachusetts that later became the state of Maine. Richard Cutts was the husband of

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...

's sister Anna.

Attempts to locate portrait

Cutts is one of approximately 50 former senators for whom the U.S. Senate's photo historian has no likeness on file. Attempts to locate one have proved unsuccessful.

References

Sources

Books

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Internet

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Newspapers

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutts, Charles 1769 births 1846 deaths Harvard University alumni Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives United States senators from New Hampshire Speakers of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Secretaries of the United States Senate New Hampshire Democratic-Republicans New Hampshire Federalists Democratic-Republican Party United States senators People of colonial New Hampshire People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire