Stevenson Archer (October 11, 1786 – June 26, 1848) was a judge and

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

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 ...

, representing the sixth district from 1811 to 1817, and the seventh district from 1819 to 1821. His son Stevenson Archer and father John Archer were also U.S. Congressmen from Maryland.

Early life

Archer was born at ''Medical Hall'', near

Churchville, Maryland Churchville is an unincorporated community in Harford County, Maryland, United States, situated between the county seat, Bel Air, and Aberdeen, where Aberdeen Proving Ground is located. Population The population of the area is 2,818. History a ...

on October 11, 1786 to Catherine (née Harris) and John Archer. He attended Nottingham Academy of Maryland, later graduating from

Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

in 1805. He studied law, was admitted to the bar of Harford County, Maryland in 1808, and commenced practice the same year.

Career

From 1809 to 1810, Archer served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, and was later elected as a Democrat-Republican to the Twelfth United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Montgomery. He was reelected to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses and served from October 26, 1811 until March 3, 1817. Having reached the Constitutional age of service in the House (25 years of age) less than one month prior to taking his seat, Archer was the youngest member of the Twelfth Congress, which was defined at least in part by the injection of youth into the government. Archer was one of the firmest supporters of the

War Hawk In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...

agenda in Congress, consistently voting for military preparation and the War of 1812. In Congress, Archer served as chairman of the Committee on Claims (Thirteenth Congress), and as a member of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Fourteenth 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 ...

, he was paymaster to the Fortieth Maryland Militia, and was appointed on March 5, 1817 by President

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 ...

as United States judge for the Territory of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, with powers of Governor, holding court at St. Stephens. Archer resigned within a year, and returned to Maryland to continue his law practice. He was elected to the Sixteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1819 until March 3, 1821, and, in Congress, served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy. In 1823, Archer was appointed chief judge of the judicial circuit court of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and Harford Counties and

Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. In 1844, Archer was appointed by Governor Thomas Pratt as chief justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...

and served until his death.

Personal life

Archer married Pamela Barney Hays in 1811. Together, they had nine children, including Stevenson Archer. His grandson was Stevenson A. Williams. On October 6, 1809, Archer was the first man to be made a Master Mason in Mount Ararat Lodge No. 44, in Bel Air Maryland, one of the states oldest and most respected Masonic Lodges. Archer was a slave owner.

Death

Archer died on June 26, 1848 at ''Medical Hall''. He is interred in the Churchville Presbyterian Church cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Stevenson 1786 births 1848 deaths People from Churchville, Maryland Princeton University alumni Chief Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Members of the United States Congress who owned slaves