Theodore Trapplan "Tappan" Michael Wentworth (February 24, 1802 – June 12, 1875) 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

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Biography

Wentworth was born in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

, on February 24, 1802. He received a liberal schooling, and worked as a store clerk in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and

South Berwick, Maine South Berwick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,467 at the 2020 census. South Berwick is home to Berwick Academy, a private, co-educational university-preparatory day school founded in 1791. The town was s ...

. He then studied law with

William Burleigh William Burleigh (October 24, 1785 – July 2, 1827) was a United States representative from Maine. He was born in Northwood, New Hampshire, on October 24, 1785. He moved with his parents to Gilmanton, New Hampshire, in 1788 where he attended ...

, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1826, and commenced practice in

York County, Maine York County is the southwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Maine, along the state of New Hampshire's eastern border. It is divided from Strafford County, New Hampshire, by the Salmon Falls River, and the connected tidal estuary—the Pi ...

. He moved to

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, in 1833 and continued the practice of law. Wentworth was a member of the committee which drafted Lowell's city charter, and was a member of the Lowell city council from 1836 to 1841, and was the council president beginning in 1837. He served in 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 1851, 1859, 1860, 1863, and 1864, and in 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 ...

in 1848, 1849, 1865, and 1866. Wentworth was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress, defeating

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

. He served from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1854 to the Thirty-fourth Congress. After leaving Congress, Wentworth returned to practicing law. He was also active in several business ventures including railroads and banking, and served as president of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

's National Rubber Company. He died in Lowell on June 12, 1875, and was interred in Lowell Cemetery.

Family

In 1842 Wentworth married Anne McNeil, a daughter of Solomon McNeil and niece of

John McNeil Jr. John McNeil Jr. (March 25, 1784 – February 23, 1850) was an officer in the United States Army. He distinguished himself in leading the bayonet charge which secured victory in the Battle of Chippewa. For his conduct in this battle, and in tha ...

John McNeil was married to Elizabeth Pierce, the daughter of Benjamin Pierce, and the sister of

Benjamin Kendrick Pierce Benjamin Kendrick Pierce (August 29, 1790 – April 1, 1850) was a career officer in the United States Army. He was a son of New Hampshire Governor Benjamin Pierce and brother of President Franklin Pierce. Benjamin K. Pierce was a veteran of t ...

and Franklin Pierce. Because of the family connection to Franklin Pierce, who was

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 ...

during Wentworth's House term, Wentworth was able to maintain cordial relations with Democrats despite disagreeing with them politically. As a result, he was sometimes employed by Whigs as a negotiator to create compromises with congressional Democrats and the Pierce administration.

References

Tappan Wentworth
in ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts''. Volume 1. 1890. D. Hamilton Hurd, author.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, Tappan 1802 births 1875 deaths Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators Massachusetts lawyers Burials in Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers