William Pitt Preble (November 27, 1783 – October 11, 1857) was an American lawyer, judge, diplomat and businessman. He was one of the first Justices of the Maine Supreme Court and U.S. Minister to the Netherlands.

Biography

William Pitt Preble was born in

York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort town. It is home ...

(Maine was then a part of

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 ...

) on November 27, 1783. 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 higher le ...

in 1806, received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Harvard in 1809, studied law, and began a practice in York. In 1811 he was appointed

County Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for York County. First 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 ...

, and later a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, in 1814 Preble was named United States Attorney for Maine, and he served until 1820. In 1819 he was a Delegate to the Maine Constitutional Convention which resulted in Maine statehood. In 1820 Preble was named one of the first Justices of the

Maine Supreme Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

, holding office until 1828. In 1829

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 ful ...

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 ...

appointed Preble as Minister to the Netherlands. This appointment came about because the King of the Netherlands had agreed to mediate between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

to resolve the question of the border between Maine and

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, and Preble's work as a U.S. Attorney and Judge made him knowledgeable on the subject. He served from 1830 to 1831, afterwards returning to the United States to accept appointment as one of the federal commissioners appointed to work with commissioners from Great Britain to resolve other outstanding issues related to the settling of the border question. The entire matter was finally resolved in 1842 by passage of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. In the 1840s Preble became interested in

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s, with his primary interest being the construction of a line through the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

that would connect Portland to the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, the

Great Lakes Region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

as a way to enhance Portland's trade and commerce. When the

St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec in Canada, is a short-line railway operating between Portland, Maine, on the Atlantic Ocean, and Montreal, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the C ...

was incorporated in 1845 Preble was named its President, and he negotiated with governments in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Canada and the United States to obtain rights of way and other concessions needed to accomplish construction and begin operations. From 1820 to 1842 Preble was a Trustee of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, and Bowdoin awarded him an honorary

LL.D. 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 refers to the early ...

degree in 1829. Preble died in Portland on October 11, 1857. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland. His granddaughter

Marian Longfellow O'Donoghue Marian Adele Longfellow O'Donoghue (April 1, 1849 – January 23, 1924) was an American writer, one of the founders of the National League of American Pen Women, in 1897. Early life Marian Adele Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, the daught ...

was a founder of the National League of American Pen Women in 1897.Walter Gerald Cooper
''The Cotton States and International Exposition and South, Illustrated''
(Illustrator 1896): 181.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preble, William Pitt 1783 births 1857 deaths People from York, Maine Businesspeople from Portland, Maine Harvard University alumni Maine lawyers Maine Democratic-Republicans Maine Democrats United States Attorneys for the District of Maine Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court 19th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers