Stephen Longfellow (March 23, 1776 – August 2, 1849) was a

U.S. 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 c ...

from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Biography

Born in Gorham in the

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

(in what is now

) to Stephen Longfellow and Patience Young Longfellow, Longfellow attended

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, Andover, MA, and then 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 1798. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1801 and commenced practice in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. He married Zilpah Wadsworth in 1804 and, with her, had eight children, including the poets

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

and

Samuel Longfellow Samuel Longfellow (1819–1892) was an American clergyman and hymn writer. Biography Samuel Longfellow was born June 18, 1819, in Portland, Maine, the last of eight children of Stephen Longfellow, Stephen and Zilpah (Wadsworth) Longfellow. His o ...

. He served as a member of the general court of Massachusetts in 1814 and 1815. He belonged to the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

and was a delegate to the

Hartford Convention The Hartford Convention was a series of meetings from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815, in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, in which the New England Federalist Party met to discuss their grievances concerning the ongoing War of 1812 and ...

in 1814 and 1815. He also served as a Federalist presidential elector in 1816. Longfellow was elected as an Adams-Clay Federalist to the Eighteenth Congress (March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1824 and resumed his law practice for a time. He served as a member of the state house of representatives in 1826. He served as overseer 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 ...

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

from 1811 to 1817 and was a trustee of the college from 1817 to 1836. He supported the Portland Athenaeum. One of its founding members, he also served as president of the

Maine Historical Society The Maine Historical Society is the official state historical society of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Landmark, Longfellow Ga ...

in 1834. Longfellow died in Portland, Maine on August 2, 1849 and was buried in the Western Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longfellow, Stephen 1776 births 1849 deaths Members of the Maine House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Massachusetts Federalists Harvard University alumni Politicians from Gorham, Maine Politicians from Portland, Maine Maine Federalists Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives Burials at Western Cemetery (Portland, Maine)