Daniel Appleton White (7 June 1776 – 30 March 1861) was an American statesman,

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, and

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...

during the nineteenth century. He was elected as a member of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

and later elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

but he resigned from the position to become the Judge of Probate for Essex County—a position he held for 38 years. As well as making a successful political and legal career in his own right, Daniel White is a descendant of William White, who settled in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1635 and was a founding father of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1640.

Early life and family

Birth

Daniel White was born on 7 June 1776 in

Methuen, Massachusetts Methuen () is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of ...

to John and Elizabeth (Haynes) White.

Education

He graduated with a law degree in

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 ...

in 1797. In 1837, some 40 years after he first graduated from

Harvard 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 ...

, the university awarded him the

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

in recognition of his achievements in the field.

Family

White married three times altogether. He married his first wife, Mary van Schalkwyck (the daughter of Dr Josiah Wilder), on 24 May 1807 and had two daughters with him. Some years after van Schalkwyck's death on 29 June 1811, White married Eliza Wetmore (the daughter of William Orne) on 1 August 1819 in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

. Like his White's first wife, Wetmore died very soon after marrying him. White was made a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

er for the second time after Eliza's death on 27 March 1821. Before her death, though, White and Wetmore had a son together named Henry. White's third and final wife was Ruth Rogers whom he married on 24 January 1824. White and Rogers remained married until White's death in March 1861.

Political and legal career

Massachusetts Senate

White was a member of the

from 1810 to 1815.

Congress

In November 1814, he was elected to

as the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

's nomination for the District of Essex North. Being offered the position as Judge of Probate for the

County of Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in 1815, he decided to resign from his position with Congress to take up the role despite protests from some of his friends.

Judge of Probate

As well as making strides in legal and political spheres, he was influential in the founding of the

Essex Institute The Essex Institute (1848–1992) in Salem, Massachusetts, was "a literary, historical and scientific society." It maintained a museum, library, historic houses; arranged educational programs; and issued numerous scholarly publications. In 1992 th ...

in Salem which, in turn, played a significant role in establishing the Essex Historical and Natural-Historical Societies. Appointed by Governor Strong in November 1815, White remained the county's judge of probate until 1 July 1853 after 38 years on the bench—longer than any of his predecessors. He ultimately played a significant role in the

Probate Court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the Administration of an estate on death, administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts ma ...

, and legal society generally, throughout his career.

Essex County Lyceum and the Essex Institute

White was a founding member of the Essex County Lyceum, 'the pioneer in the system of public lectures and... romisedto be potent among the educational and moral influences of the time.'Hurd, Duane Hamilton, ed. (1888). ''History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men''. UMass Amherst Libraries. Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co. p. xxvi. Although not its founder, he was the president of the

from its formation in 1848 until his death.

Death and burial

Having moved from

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

on 3 January 1817, Daniel eventually died in Salem on 30 March 1861. He is probably buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem.''Find A Grave'', database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 17 August 2019), memorial page for Judge Daniel Appleton White (7 Jun 1776–30 Mar 1861), Find A Grave Memorial no. 32171470, citing Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Bob on Gallows Hill (contributor 46630279).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Daniel Appleton 1776 births 1861 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians Burials at Harmony Grove Cemetery Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state senators