Nathaniel Silsbee

Nathaniel Silsbee
Nathaniel Silsbee
United States Senator; from Massachusetts
	In office; May 31, 1826 – March 3, 1835
Preceded by	James Lloyd
Succeeded by	John Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Massachusetts's 2nd district
	In office; March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1821
Preceded by	Timothy Pickering
Succeeded by	Gideon Barstow
President of the; Massachusetts State Senate
	In office; 1823–1825
Preceded by	John Phillips
Succeeded by	John Mills
Personal details
Born	January 14, 1773; Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
Died	July 14, 1850 (aged 77); Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Federalist; National Republican; Whig
Spouse	Mary Crowninshield
Relations	Jared Sparks, Son in law.
Children	Nathaniel Silsbee, Jr., b. December 2, 1804; Mary Crowninshield Silsbee, b. April 10, 1809; Georgina Silsbee,; b. January 27, 1824 d. January 25, 1901.
Occupation	Merchant

Nathaniel Silsbee (January 14, 1773 – July 14, 1850) was a ship master, merchant and American politician from Salem, Massachusetts.

Early career

Silsbee was the eldest child of Capt. Nathaniel and Sarah (Becket) Silsbee. At the age of fourteen, to support his family upon the financial failures of his father, he went to sea and learned navigation. His able seamanship won him, at the age of nineteen, command of Elias Hasket Derby's Sloop "Sally". Silsbee continued commanding Derby vessels and had many interesting adventures and exploits with privateers, French Consuls, and such.^[3] ^[4] In 1795 he became part owner of the Schooner "Betsy" and continued to prosper and master his own vessels. In 1801 he placed his brothers, William and Zachariah, in charge of his ships. Nathaniel continued owning vessels in partnerships until the 1840s, but he actively retired from shipping when he commenced his political career.^[5]

Nathaniel married Mary Crowninshield, the daughter of one of Salem's wealthiest merchants, on December 12, 1802. Their son Nathaniel was mayor of Salem from 1849 to 1850 and from 1858 to 1859.

Political career

Silsbee was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served two terms from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1821, during which time he was chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Military Pensions in the Twenty-first Congress. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1820, choosing to serve in the Massachusetts House of Representatives instead. After one term, he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate, where he served as president from 1823 to 1825. He was a presidential elector in 1824.

He was elected to the United States Senate in 1826 to fill the vacancy in the term ending March 3, 1829, caused by the resignation of James Lloyd. He was re-elected in 1829 and served from May 31, 1826, to March 3, 1835. He was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce in the Twenty-third Congress. He was a Whig presidential elector in 1836.

Retirement

Silsbee resumed mercantile pursuits in Salem, where he died; interment in The Burying Point, the second oldest cemetery in the US.

Legacy

The Nathaniel Silsbee House is a historic building in Salem, maintained by the Knights of Columbus.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cooke, Harriet Ruth Waters (1889), The Driver family: a genealogical memoir of the descendants of Robert and Phebe Driver, Cambridge, MA: University Press, p. 474
^ Perkins Institute and the Massachusetts School for the Blind (1902), Seventieth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Perkins Institute and the Massachusetts School for the Blind for the year ending August 31, 1901, Boston, MA: Perkins Institute and the Massachusetts School for the Blind, p. 47
^ Curley, Jerome (February 26, 2012). "From Teen Captain to the Knights of Columbus". Salem Patch. Salem, Ma. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^ King, Caroline Howard (1937). When I lived in Salem, 1822-1866. Brattleboro, Vt.: Stephen Daye Press.
^ "SILSBEE FAMILY PAPERS, 1637, 1754-1907" (PDF). Peabody Essex Museum. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^ https://www.facebook.com/Nathaniel-Silsbee-House-470731416355161/info/?tab=page_info ^{[user-generated source]}

External links

United States Congress. "Nathaniel Silsbee (id: S000411)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Timothy Pickering	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1817 - March 3, 1821	Succeeded by Gideon Barstow
U.S. Senate
Preceded by James Lloyd	U.S. senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts May 31, 1826 - March 3, 1835 Served alongside: Elijah H. Mills, Daniel Webster	Succeeded by John Davis
Political offices
Preceded by John Phillips	President of the Massachusetts Senate 1823 – 1826	Succeeded by John Mills