Samuel Dexter (Massachusetts politician)

Samuel Dexter (1726-1810^[1]^[2]) was an early American politician from Dedham, Massachusetts.

Personal life[]

Born in 1726 in Dedham,^[2] he was very smart but did not wish to follow his father, also named Samuel Dexter, into the ministry at First Church and Parish in Dedham.^[3]^[4] He married Hannah Sigourney in 1748.^[2] His son, the third Samuel Dexter, served in the administrations of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Career[]

Dexter moved from Dedham to Boston and earned "a modest fortune" with his "mercantile pursuits."^[3]^[5] He retired back to Dedham in 1761 at the age of 36 to build the Samuel Dexter House.^[3]^[4] The house still stands today at 699 High Street.^[6]

Political career[]

After retiring to Dedham, he was active in the community for the next 13 years. He was active politically during the Revolutionary War^[7] and kept a diary of his thoughts about the day's events.^[8] During this time he served in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.^[3] He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1764 to 1767 and again in 1765, and 1785.^[2]^[5]^[3] From 1768 to 1774, he was a Governor's Councillor.^[9]^[3] He was a selectman for five terms beginning in 1764,^[10]^[5] moderator,^[5] justice of the peace, and town clerk in 1761.^[2]^[5] He was also town clerk for a total of five years.^[11]

Following the evacuation of Boston, General George Washington spent the night of April 4, 1776 at Dexter's home on his way to New York.^[12] In December 1771, Dexter hosted John Hancock and Jason Haven, his minister and brother-in-law, for dinner.^[9] In July 1771, he invited Governor Thomas Hutchinson and several members of the Council^[a] to dinner.^[9]

On the morning of April 19, 1775, a messenger came "down the Needham road" with news about the battle in Lexington.^[13]^[14] He stopped at the home of Samuel Dexter and ran up to the front door.^[14] Dexter met him at the front door and, upon hearing the news, nearly fainted.^[14] He had to be helped back into his house.^[14]

Dexter believed that it was suicidal for a group of militiamen to face off against the British Army.^[14] Instead, he favored having them retreat to the interior to train before facing off against the redcoats.^[15] He was accused of not being sufficiently devoted to the patriot cause but was too proud to fight back.^[14]

He resigned all his positions in the autumn of 1775^[b] in ill health and moved to Woodstock, Connecticut.^[3] In his will he left $170 to the Dedham Public Schools.^[1]

Notes[]

^ Possibly James Otis, Artemas Ward, or James Bowdoin.^[9]
^ Smith has the date as 1776.^[3]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Smith 1936, p. 119.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Schutz, John A. (1997). Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780: A Biographical Dictionary. UPNE. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-55553-304-5. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Smith 1936, p. 75.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Hanson 1976, p. 133.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hanson 1976, p. 134.
^ Robert Hanson (1999). "Stories Behind the Pictures in the Images of America: Dedham Book". Dedham Historical Society News-Letter (December). Archived from the original on December 31, 2006.
^ "A Capsule History of Dedham". Dedham Historical Society. 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
^ Lockridge 1985, p. 112.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Hanson 1976, p. 147.
^ Worthington 1827, p. 79-81.
^ Worthington 1827, p. 79.
^ Guide Book To New England Travel. 1919.
^ Abbott 1903, pp. 290-297.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Hanson 1976, p. 152.
^ Hanson 1976, p. 153.

Works cited[]

Abbott, Katharine M. (1903). Old Paths And Legends Of New England (PDF). New York: The Knickerbocker Press. pp. 290–297. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
Lockridge, Kenneth (1985). A New England Town. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-95459-3.
Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
Worthington, Erastus (1827). The history of Dedham: from the beginning of its settlement, in September 1635, to May 1827. Dutton and Wentworth. p. 29. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society.

[13] Possibly James Otis, Artemas Ward, or James Bowdoin.^[9]

[17] Smith has the date as 1776.^[3]

[FOOTNOTESmith1936119-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Smith 1936, p. 119.

[Schutz-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Schutz, John A. (1997). Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780: A Biographical Dictionary. UPNE. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-55553-304-5. Retrieved 8 November 2019.

[FOOTNOTESmith193675-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Smith 1936, p. 75.

[FOOTNOTEHanson1976133-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Hanson 1976, p. 133.

[FOOTNOTEHanson1976134-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hanson 1976, p. 134.

[Hanson-6] Robert Hanson (1999). "Stories Behind the Pictures in the Images of America: Dedham Book". Dedham Historical Society News-Letter (December). Archived from the original on December 31, 2006.

[DHSCapsule-7] "A Capsule History of Dedham". Dedham Historical Society. 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2006.

[FOOTNOTELockridge1985112-8] Lockridge 1985, p. 112.

[FOOTNOTEHanson1976147-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Hanson 1976, p. 147.

[FOOTNOTEWorthington182779-81-10] Worthington 1827, p. 79-81.

[FOOTNOTEWorthington182779-11] Worthington 1827, p. 79.

[guidebook-12] Guide Book To New England Travel. 1919.

[FOOTNOTEAbbott1903290-297-14] Abbott 1903, pp. 290-297.

[FOOTNOTEHanson1976152-15] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Hanson 1976, p. 152.

[FOOTNOTEHanson1976153-16] Hanson 1976, p. 153.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[a]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[b]

hide Authority control
General	ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat
National libraries	United States
Other	Faceted Application of Subject Terminology