Richard Cutts (June 28, 1771 – April 7, 1845) was an American merchant and politician. A

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

, he was most notable for his service as Second Comptroller of the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

from 1817 to 1829 and a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

from 1801 to 1813.

Early life

Cutts was born Cutts Island on June 28, 1771. The island was near the town of Pepperellborough in Massachusetts Bay's

Province of Maine The Province of Maine refers to any of the various English colonies established in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, within portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Canadian ...

(modern-day

Saco, Maine Saco is a city in York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,381 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General ...

). The fifth of eight children born to Thomas Cutts and Elizabeth Scammon Cutts, he attended the rural schools of Maine and

Phillips Academy, Andover ("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 ...

. He graduated from

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 high ...

in 1790, then traveled extensively in Europe. Cutts' father was a shipbuilder and merchant who traded in lumber and other cargoes at ports in several Caribbean islands. Cutts studied law, but rather than pursuing a legal career, he also became a successful trader and merchant.

Political career

, Cutts served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1799 and 1800. In 1800 he was elected to the Seventh U.S. Congress. He was reelected five times and served from March 4, 1801, to March 3, 1813. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1812 to the Thirteenth Congress. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Cutts was appointed as the federal superintendent general of military supplies, and he served from 1813 to 1817. In 1817, he was appointed Second

Comptroller of the Treasury The Comptroller of the Treasury was an official of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1789 to 1817. According to section III of the Act of Congress establishing the Treasury Department, it is the comptroller's duty to :''superintend ...

, the first individual to hold this post. He served until March 21, 1829, and was succeeded by

Isaac Hill Isaac Hill (April 6, 1788March 22, 1851) was an American politician, journalist, political commentator and newspaper editor who was a United States senator and the 16th governor of New Hampshire, serving two consecutive terms. Hill was born on ...

Slavery

Cutts was a slave owner.

Death and burial

In retirement, Cutts was a resident of

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, ...

He died in Washington on April 7, 1845. Cutts was buried at St. John's Graveyard, and in 1857 he was reinterred at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Family

In 1804, Cutts married Anna Payne, whose sister

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 ...

was the wife of Secretary of State (and later,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

)

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

. They were the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters: * James Madison (1805–1863) * Thomas (1806–1838) * Walter Coles (b. 1808, d. after 1833) * Richard (1810–1815) * Dorthea (Dolley) Payne Madison (1811–1838) * Mary Estelle Elizabeth (1814–1856) * Richard Dominicus (1817–1883) Cutts' daughter Mary was close to Dolley Madison and wrote two memoirs about her. Cutts' grandson James M. Cutts was a member of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and a recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. His granddaughter Adèle Cutts Douglas was the second wife of Senator

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutts, Richard 1771 births 1845 deaths Harvard University alumni Comptrollers in the United States People from Saco, Maine Massachusetts Democratic-Republicans Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from the District of Maine Members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts