Samuel Edwards (March 12, 1785 – November 21, 1850) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives 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

Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district Pennsylvania's first congressional district includes all of Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County in southeastern Pennsylvania. It has been represented by Brian Fitzpatrick since 2019. The state congressional district map was redrawn ...

from 1819 to 1823 and from

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district Pennsylvania's fourth congressional district, effective January 3, 2019, encompasses the majority of Montgomery County and a small sliver of Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the Pennsylvania district ...

from 1823 to 1827.

Early life

Samuel Edwards was born in

Chester Township, Pennsylvania Chester Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2010 census, down from 4,604 at the 2000 census. The Sun Center Studios are located in Chester Township. History Chester Townshi ...

. He studied law, was admitted to the Delaware County

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1806 and commenced practice in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. Edwards was 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 called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

and was chairman of the 1812 meeting in Chester, Pennsylvania that denounced Congress for declaring war on Great Britain. However once the war was on he supported the U.S. effort. In April 1813, he and Thomas D. Anderson applied to the state and provided their personal funds as bond for military provisions and ammunition to arm a company of Soldiers from Chester during 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 ...

. The military provisions were sent to the

Battle of Frenchtown The Battles of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, were a series of conflicts in Michigan Territory that took place from January 18–23, 1813, during the War of 1812. It was fought between the ...

to help fight the attack by British Admiral

George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars an ...

. The Chester troops marched to

Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of na ...

to resist the British Forces. In the summer of 1814, when Dr. Samuel Anderson raised the Mifflin Guards, Edwards joined as a private and served as company clerk.

Career

While still in active service, Edwards was elected as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1814 to 1816. In 1819, Edwards was elected as a

to the

Sixteenth The 16th century begins with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (Roman numerals, MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (Roman numerals, MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar ...

and Seventeenth Congresses and served until 1823. Edwards gradually fell away from the Federalist party. He trained under the leadership of

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

but did not follow him into the Whig Party. In 1825 Edwards was elected as a Jackson Federalist to the Eighteenth Congress from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district and reelected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Navy during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Congresses. After leaving Congress in 1827, Edwards resumed the practice of law in Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1832, he was elected Chief Burgess of Chester and served as Inspector of Customs in Chester from 1838 to 1842. He was a director of the

Delaware County National Bank Delaware County National Bank is a historic bank building in Chester, Pennsylvania, located at the southwest corner of 3rd Street and Avenue of the States (formerly Market Square) adjacent to the Old St. Paul's Church burial ground. It was built ...

and the Delaware Mutual Insurance Company. He also served as counsel for the

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad that operated independently from 1836 to 1881. It was formed in 1836 by the merger of four state-chartered railroads in three Middle Atlantic states to create a ...

Personal life

Edwards daughter married the General and frontiersman

Edward Fitzgerald Beale Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was a national figure in the 19th-century United States. He was a naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, ...

and his granddaughter married the last Czarist Russian Ambassador to the United States,

George Bakhmeteff George Petrovich Bakhmeteff (Russian: Георгий Петрович Бахметев; 1847 – 29 August 1928) was the last tsarist Russian Ambassador to the United States. He served in office between the years 1911 and 1917. Origins He was a ca ...

. He died in Chester in 1850 and is interred in

Chester Rural Cemetery Chester Rural Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery founded in March 1863 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Some of the first burials were Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who died at the government hospital located at the nearby building w ...

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Samuel 1785 births 1850 deaths 19th-century American politicians American bankers American people of the War of 1812 Burials at Chester Rural Cemetery Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania lawyers People from Chester, Pennsylvania People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania