Benjamin Adams (December 16, 1764 – March 28, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life

Adams was born in Mendon in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

on December 16, 1764,US Congress, id: A000030 son of Josiah Adams and Sarah Reed. He grew up in Mendon, which was then a rural agricultural community. Adams was well educated by existing public schools in that community.

College and practice of law

He graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

in 1788, where he studied law, receiving his A.M. degree in course. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, and began the practice of the law in

Uxbridge, Massachusetts Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, MA, Mendon, and named for the Marquess of Anglesey, Earl of Uxbridge. The town is located south ...

Political career

He was elected to 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 1809 until 1814, later winning election to the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1814 through 1815. In 1816, he was elected to 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Massachusetts in the 14th, 15th and 16th congresses, having been elected first to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Elijah Brigham in 1816 and serving in that body until 1821, were succeeded by Jonathan Russell. In 1822 he was then reelected to the

Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

, and served there through 1825.

Death and afterwards

He died in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on March 28, 1837. The Benjamin Adams House is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in Uxbridge. The house is located at 85 North Main Street, near the "Uxbridge Common Historic District". Benjamin Adams is buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery, next to the historic Capron Mill in downtown Uxbridge. Another elected Congressman is buried there, Phineas Bruce, as well as a

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 val ...

recipient from this town, Corporal Edward Sullivan. Benjamin Adams would have seen the early history and successes of the adjacent Capron Mill, and the beginnings of American industrialization which occurred there. On July 21, 2007, the historic Capron Mill, later known as the

Bernat Mill The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, was an American yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, that was for the most part destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007. This mill complex at Uxbridge had been a h ...

, was burned in a spectacular ten-alarm fire. A housing development and street there is named in his honor today.

Early life

College and practice of law

Political career

Death and afterwards

See also

References

Sources

Further reading