Henry Latimer (April 24, 1752 – December 19, 1819) was an American physician and politician from

Newport, Delaware Newport is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is on the Christina River. It is best known for being the home of colonial inventor Oliver Evans. The population was 1,055 at the 2010 census. Four limited access highways, I- ...

. He was elected to the Continental Congress from Delaware, and was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisl ...

, as U.S. Representative from Delaware, and U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Early life and family

Latimer was born in Newport in the

Delaware Colony Delaware Colony in the North American Middle Colonies consisted of land on the west bank of the Delaware River Bay. In the early 17th century the area was inhabited by Lenape and possibly the Assateague tribes of Native Americans. The first E ...

, son of James Latimer, Sr. and Sarah Geddes. His father was a wealthy grain shipper and politician, who was a member of the House of Assembly in the 1778/79 session and a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787. Latimer's brother, George, also served in the House of Assembly from the 1779/80 session through the 1781/82 session. Later he moved to Philadelphia where he became Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1794. Latimer studied medicine, and attended the

College of Philadelphia The Academy and College of Philadelphia (1749-1791) was a boys' school and men's college in Philadelphia, Colony of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1749 by a group of local notables that included Benjamin Franklin, the Academy of Philadelphia began as ...

(now the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

) in Philadelphia and graduated in 1773, going to

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinar ...

in Scotland in 1775 to complete his education. Returning in the midst of the American Revolution, he served in the "Flying Hospital," a mobile surgical unit of the Continental Army. He was at the Battle of Brandywine and continued through the end of the war. After the war he was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati.

Professional and political career

Elected to the Continental Congress on April 8, 1784, Latimer never attended the session that spring in Annapolis, Maryland and was replaced. Like his father and brother, he was elected to the House of Assembly and served from the 1787/88 session through the 1790/91 session. He was the Speaker in that last session. Latimer lost the 1792 election for the U.S. House to Major John Patten by thirty votes, but contested Patton's election to the U.S. House. The Federalist majority there reviewed the ballots cast, and based on a confusing law requiring the names of two candidates on the ballot, disqualified enough of Patton's votes to award the seat to Latimer. Amidst considerable bitterness, he was seated February 14, 1794. After once again losing an election to Patten in 1794, Latimer resigned from the U.S. House on February 7, 1795 when he was elected by the Delaware General Assembly to the disputed and long vacant U.S. Senate seat of retired U.S. Senator George Read. After finishing Read's term, he was reelected in 1796, and served until February 28, 1801, when he also resigned. Some believe that the reason for his resignation was that he was unhappy over the tactics of his political opponents who were still bitter over the circumstances of the contested election in 1792. At various times Latimer was a member of the Wilmington Academy board, director of the Bank of Delaware, president of the First Agricultural Society of New Castle County, and president of the Board of Trustees of Newark College. He was a charter member of the Delaware Medical Society.

Death and legacy

Latimer died at Philadelphia and was buried first in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Wilmington. This cemetery is now the location of the Wilmington Institute Library and his remains were then moved to the

Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres. History The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought ...

. Even though he was a physician and a Presbyterian, Latimer was a member of a prominent and well-to-do merchant family and was very much in agreement with the prevailing Federalist positions on such controversial issues as the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

and other measures of the Adams administration. The burgeoning party of Thomas Jefferson, now known as the Democratic-Republicans, was increasingly popular and vocal in heavily Irish and "Country Party" New Castle County, and they never seemed to forgive him his apparent theft of the 1792 congressional election. Consequently, upon celebrating election victories in 1802, they fired cannon, loaded with potatoes and herring, in mock salute to Latimer, remembering his reputed statement that "the laboring classes lived too well to be happy and should be reduced to the fare of the Irish."

Almanac

Elections were held October 1. Members of the General Assembly took office on October 20 or the following weekday. The State Assemblymen were elected for a one-year term. They chose the Continental Congressmen for a one-year term. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two-year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who also took office March 4, but for a six-year term. In this case he was initially completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the resignation of George Read. However, the General Assembly failed to fill the position for nearly a year and a half. After 1792 elections were moved to the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. The State Legislative Council was renamed the State Senate and the State House of Assembly was renamed the State House of Representatives.

Notes

References

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Images

United States Senate
''Portrait courtesy of the United States Senate, Art & History.''

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Muse ...

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965 {{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, Henry (senator) 1752 births 1819 deaths People from Newport, Delaware People of colonial Delaware American Presbyterians Pro-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware Pro-Administration Party United States senators from Delaware Delaware Federalists Federalist Party United States senators from Delaware Members of the Delaware House of Representatives Speakers of the Delaware House of Representatives Physicians from Delaware University of Pennsylvania alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Physicians in the American Revolution Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware