Daniel Jenifer (April 15, 1791 – December 18, 1855) was an American lawyer and statesman from

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Was ...

. He was also the nephew of Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer. He graduated from

Charlotte Hall Military Academy Charlotte Hall Military Academy, located at Charlotte Hall, Maryland, was established as Charlotte Hall School in 1774 by Queen Charlotte to provide for the liberal and pious education of youth to better fit them for the discharge of their duties ...

. He represented

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

's 1st Congressional district in the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

in 1831–1833 and the 7th district from 1835 to 1841. From 1841 to 1845 he served as U.S. Minister to the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

. His uncle, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, was a signer of the United States Constitution. His family home was known as Retreat and is located in

Port Tobacco Port Tobacco, officially Port Tobacco Village, is a town in Charles County, in southern Maryland, United States. The population was 13 at the 2010 census, making Port Tobacco the smallest incorporated town in Maryland. Overview This was historical ...

, Maryland.

Career

Daniel Jenifer was born in

. He was a nephew of Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer (1723-1790), one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the son-in-law of Congressman John Campbell (1765-1828). He attended public schools and then studied law. In the early 1830s, he began a political career as a member of the short-lived National Republican Party. After the dissolution of his party in the mid-1830s, he became a member of the Whigs. In the congressional elections of 1830 Jenifer was elected in the first constituency of Maryland in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC, where he succeeded on 4 March 1831, the successor to Clement Dorsey. Since he was not re-elected in 1832, he was initially only able to complete only one term in Congress until March 3, 1833. This was marked by discussions about the policies of President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

. In these years, the Nullification Crisis reached its peak with the state of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. In 1834 Jenifer was re-elected to Congress in the seventh district of his state, where he was able to complete three more legislative periods between March 4, 1835, and March 3, 1841. There he experienced until 1837 the final phase of the term of President Jackson. After the end of his time in the US House of Representatives Daniel Jenifer was appointed by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

as successor to

Henry Muhlenberg Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (an anglicanization of Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg) (September 6, 1711 – October 7, 1787), was a German Lutheran pastor sent to North America as a missionary, requested by Pennsylvania colonists. Integral to the ...

, the ambassador to Vienna. In this capacity he served until 1845. Then he was replaced by the former congressman from Georgia, William Henry Stiles. Between 1845 and 1851, Daniel Jenifer was a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

for wills in Charles County. He died on December 18, 1855, near Port Tobacco Village.

References

External links

1791 births 1855 deaths People from Port Tobacco Village, Maryland Maryland Whigs Ambassadors of the United States to Austria Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni 19th-century American diplomats National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians Jenifer family {{Maryland-politician-stub