Tristram Dalton
Tristram Dalton | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Massachusetts | |
In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791 | |
Preceded by | None |
Succeeded by | George Cabot |
8th Commissioner of the Federal City | |
In office March 10, 1801 – July 1, 1802 | |
Preceded by | William Cranch |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts | May 28, 1738
Political party | Pro-Administration |
Alma mater | Harvard College |
Profession | Merchant |
Tristram Dalton (May 28, 1738 – May 30, 1817) was an American
Early life
Tristram Dalton was born in a part of Newbury, Massachusetts, that is now Newburyport, the only child of Michael and Mary (Little) Dalton. He graduated from Harvard College in 1755, in a class that also included John Adams. Afterwards, he studied law and was admitted to the bar, but did not practice, instead pursuing a career as a merchant. Dalton's father was a ship's captain turned merchant, involved in trade with Europe and the West Indies, and was instrumental in securing the separation of Newburyport from Newbury. Upon his father's death in 1770, Tristram inherited an estate and local businesses that made him Newburyport's wealthiest citizen.
Political career
Dalton was not significantly involved in politics until 1774, when the tensions of the
Dalton was elected to the
In 1801 he was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as the last commissioner of the Federal City, which by then had been named Washington in the District of Columbia. He filled the seat vacated by William Cranch who was appointed to the bench in the new capitol and served for a little over a year until the Board of Commissioners of the Federal City was disbanded in 1802.
Later life
Dalton had married Ruth Hooper, the daughter of a wealthy Marblehead merchant, in 1761. They had grown fond of the city life in New York City (then the seat of the federal government), and moved there, and then Philadelphia. When the site of the nation's capital was selected, Dalton sold off most of his property in Massachusetts, and speculatively purchased land in Washington, D.C. Many of the family's personal items were lost when the ship carrying them to Washington foundered. Dalton's investment was also a failure, as Washington real estate did not appreciate, and he had invested through an unscrupulous agent, wiping out most of his fortune.
In order to make ends meet, Dalton was given a patronage appointment as surveyor of the port of Boston, serving from November 1814 until his death on May 30, 1817. He is interred in the churchyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Newburyport. His wife died in 1826. Of their ten children, only three girls survived to adulthood.
Slave ownership
According to research conducted by
Honors and legacy
Dalton was a charter member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780.[3]
Tristram Dalton is the namesake of Dalton, Massachusetts, Dalton, New Hampshire and Dalton, Georgia.[4]
Notes
- ^ Zauzmer Weil, Julie; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo (2022-01-10). "More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ Hubbard, Rev. Martha L. (2008-12-27). "Taking a look at the legacy of slavery". The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Charter of Incorporation of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 99.