William Shapleigh Damrell (November 29, 1809 – May 17, 1860) was a member of the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

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 ...

Career

Damrell was born in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

on November 29, 1809. He attended public schools, learned the art of printing and became the proprietor of a large printing establishment in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He published books, almanacs, and government publications of all types, but was primarily known for printing books, broadsides and pamphlets for temperance and other reform organizations. He also became the city's main supplier of stationery and office supplies. He was active in the Free Soil Party. In 1854 he was elected to the Thirty-fourth Congress as a Free Soiler with American Party support (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857). He was reelected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859). Damrell suffered a paralytic stroke before the expiration of his second term, and was not a candidate for renomination in 1858. He resumed his printing business activities.

Death and burial

He died in Dedham on May 17, 1860. His interment was at

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a public ...

in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1892 his former estate was purchased and converted into the Fairview Cemetery.

Family

Damrell was married to Adeline A. Naef (1807-1880). Their children included: Lucius Manlius Sargent Damrell (1833-1872); Catherine Shapley Damrell Gowland (1835-1860); William Shapleigh Damrell (1838-1873); Andrew Naef Damrell (1840-1909); and Horace Sargent Damrell (1842-1862).

External links

* 1809 births 1860 deaths Politicians from Portsmouth, New Hampshire Know-Nothing members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians Politicians from Dedham, Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-Representative-stub