Benjamin Adams (politician)

{{short description|American politician}} {{about|the Massachusetts legislator|the Wisconsin politician|Benjamin F. Adams}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Benjamin Adams | image = Benjamin Adams House Fall 2007.jpg | state = [[Massachusetts]] | district = {{ushr|MA|11|11th}} | term_start = December 2, 1816 | term_end = March 3, 1821 | preceded = [[Elijah Brigham]] | succeeded = [[Jonathan Russell (diplomat)|Jonathan Russell]] | office2 = Also a [[Massachusetts|state legislator]], [[Massachusetts|State Senator]], [[Lawyer]], [[Politician]] | term2 = preceding and following Congressional Service | preceded2 = | succeeded2 = | birth_date = {{birth date|1764|12|16}} | birth_place = [[Mendon, Massachusetts|Mendon]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]], [[British America]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1837|3|28|1764|12|16}} | death_place = [[Uxbridge, Massachusetts|Uxbridge]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S. | resting_place = Prospect Hill Cemetery, Uxbridge | spouse = | children = | alma_mater = [[Brown University]] | profession = Lawyer | party = [[Federalist]] }}

'''Benjamin Adams''' (December 16, 1764 – March 28, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician.

==Early life== Adams was born in [[Mendon, Massachusetts|Mendon]] in the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]] on December 16, 1764,<ref name="CongBio">US Congress, id: A000030</ref> son of Josiah Adams, an uncle to President John Adams, and Sarah Reed.<ref name="BDA1906">{{harvnb|Johnson|1906|p=35}}</ref> He grew up in Mendon, which was then a rural agricultural community. Adams was well educated by existing public schools in that community.

==College and practice of law== He graduated from [[Brown University]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]] in 1788, where he studied law, receiving his [[Master of Arts|A.M.]] degree in course.<ref name="BDA1906" /> He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, and began the practice of the law in [[Uxbridge, Massachusetts]].<ref name="CongBio" />

==Political career== He was elected to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] from 1809 to 1814, later winning election to the [[Massachusetts Senate]] in 1814 through 1815.<ref name="BDA1906" /> In 1816, he was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] from Massachusetts in the 14th, 15th, and 16th congresses, having been elected first to fill the vacancy caused by the death of [[Elijah Brigham]] in 1816 and serving in that body until 1821, were succeeded by [[Jonathan Russell (diplomat)|Jonathan Russell]].<ref name="BDA1906" /><ref name="CongBio" /> In 1822 he was then reelected to the [[Massachusetts State Senate]] and served there through 1825.<ref name="BDA1906" />

==Death and afterward== He died in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on March 28, 1837.<ref name="BDA1906" /><ref name="CongBio" /> The Benjamin Adams House is on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in Uxbridge. The house is located at 85 North Main Street, near the "Uxbridge Common Historic District." Benjamin Adams is buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery,<ref name="CongBio" /> next to the historic Capron Mill in downtown Uxbridge. Another elected Congressman is buried there, [[Phineas Bruce]], as well as a [[Medal of Honor]] recipient from this town, [[Corporal Edward Sullivan]]. Benjamin Adams would have seen the early history and successes of the adjacent [[John Capron|Capron Mill]], and the beginnings of American industrialization which occurred there. On July 21, 2007, the historic Capron Mill, later known as the [[Bernat Mill]], was burned in a spectacular ten-alarm fire. A housing development and street there is named in his honor today.

==See also== * [[List of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge, Massachusetts]] * [[Benjamin Adams House]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{BDA1906 |wstitle= Adams, Benjamin |volume= 1 |page=35 |short=}}

==Further reading== * ''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=11 | before=[[Elijah Brigham]] | after=[[Jonathan Russell (diplomat)|Johnathan Russell]] | years=December 2, 1816 - March 3, 1821 }} {{end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Benjamin}} [[Category:1764 births]] [[Category:1837 deaths]] [[Category:Massachusetts lawyers]] [[Category:People from Mendon, Massachusetts]] [[Category:People from colonial Massachusetts]] [[Category:Federalist Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Politicians from Worcester County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:Massachusetts state senators]] [[Category:Brown University alumni]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]