Zabdiel Sampson

{{Short description|American politician (1781–1828)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Zabdiel Sampson | image = | caption = | state1 = [[Massachusetts]] | district1 = {{ushr|MA|8|8th}} | term_start1 = March 4, 1817 | term_end1 = July 26, 1820 | predecessor1 = [[William Baylies]] | successor1 = [[Aaron Hobart]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1781|8|22}} | birth_place = [[Plympton, Massachusetts]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1828|7|19|1781|8|22}} | death_place = [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]] | alma_mater = [[Brown University]] | occupation = Lawyer | party = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] | spouse = {{marriage|Ruth Lobdell|October 18, 1804}} | parents = George Sampson<br>Hannah Cooper Sampson | relations = | children = 10 }}

'''Zabdiel Sampson''' (August 22, 1781 – July 19, 1828) was a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] from [[Massachusetts]].

==Early life== Sampson was born in [[Plympton, Massachusetts]], on August 22, 1781.<ref name="ZAbioguide"/> He was the eldest of nine children born to George Sampson (1755–1826) and Hannah ([[née]] Cooper) Sampson (1761–1836), who married in 1780.<ref name="Plympton1923">{{cite book |last1=Town) |first1=Plympton (Mass |title=Vital Records of Plympton, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 |date=1923 |publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society at the Charge of the Eddy Town-Record Fund |page=183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5sYMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA183 |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

His paternal aunt, Hannah Sampson, was married to his maternal uncle, Richard Cooper. His paternal grandfather, and namesake, was Zabdeil Sampson, who died in the Revolutionary War.<ref name="Vinton1864">{{cite book |last1=Vinton |first1=John Adams |title=The Sampson Family: Genealogical Memoirs of the Sampson Family in America, from the Arrival of the Mayflower in 1620 to the Present Time |date=1864 |publisher=Henry W. Dutton & Son, distributed by Higginson Genealogical Books |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZY2VZ3FylEC&pg=PA49 |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

As a young man during the [[American Revolutionary War]], he apprenticed as a blacksmith. He later pursued classical studies and graduated from [[Brown University]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], in 1803.<ref name="ZAbioguide"/>

==Career== He studied law, was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] in 1806. He first began practicing in [[Fairhaven, Massachusetts]], before returning to practice in [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]].<ref name="ZAbioguide"/>

Sampson first became involved in politics as a member of the Board of Selectmen for Plymouth.<ref name="Davis1885">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=William Thomas |title=History of the Town of Plymouth: With a Sketch of the Origin and Growth of Separatism |date=1885 |publisher=J.W. Lewis |page=[https://archive.org/details/historytownplym01davigoog/page/n80 62] |url=https://archive.org/details/historytownplym01davigoog |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In 1816, he was elected as a [[Democratic-Republican]] to succeed Congressman [[William Baylies]] and represent [[Massachusetts's 8th congressional district]] in the [[15th United States Congress|Fifteenth]] and [[16th United States Congress|Sixteenth]] Congresses and served from March 4, 1817, to July 26, 1820, when he resigned due to his appointment by President [[James Monroe]] as Collector of Customs at Plymouth on July 26, 1820, and served until his death.<ref name="ZAbioguide">{{cite web |title=SAMPSON, Zabdiel - Biographical Information |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000026 |website=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] |access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref> Sampson was a close friend of [[Daniel Webster]].<ref name="Kingman1892"/>

==Personal life== On October 18, 1804, Sampson was married to Ruth Lobdell (1784–1837), daughter of Captain Ebenezer and Judith Lobdell.<ref name="Kingman1892">{{cite book |last1=Kingman |first1=Bradford |title=Epitaphs from Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts, from 1657 to 1892: With Biographical and Historical Notes |date=1892 |publisher=New England Illustrated Historical Publishing Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/epitaphsfromburi00king/page/160 160] |url=https://archive.org/details/epitaphsfromburi00king |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Together, they were the parents of ten children, including:<ref name="Plympton1923"/>

* Milton Lobdell Sampson (1805–1806), who died in infancy.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Eudora Rowland Sampson (1807–1852), who married Francis Alden.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Algernon Sidney Sampson (1809–1815), who died as a child.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Marcia Lobdell Sampson (1811–1859), who married John Hayden Coggeshall. After his death, she married Dr. John Hornby. * Maria Louisa Sampson (b. 1813), who married Daniel Ricketson in 1834.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Algernon Sidney Sampson (1815–1849), who married Adeline Lombard.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Ruth Lobdell Sampson (1819–1851), who married Daniel Hathaway.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Zabdiel Silsbee Sampson (1821–1870)<ref name="Essex1898">{{cite book |title=Essex Institute Historical Collections |date=1898 |publisher=Essex Institute Press |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fk4_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA36 |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> * Judith Lobdell Sampson (b. 1827), a twin.<ref name="Vinton1864"/> * Nancy Ripley Sampson (1827–1854), a twin who married prolific author James Loring Baker (1813–1886).<ref name="Hingham1893">{{cite book |title=History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts |date=1893 |publisher=John Wilson and Son |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LkyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA19 |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Sampson died on July 19, 1828, in Plymouth. He was interred in [[Burial Hill Cemetery]].<ref name="ZAbioguide"/>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{CongBio|S000026}} *{{find a Grave|7505932}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state= Massachusetts | district= 8 | before= [[William Baylies]] | years= March 4, 1817 – July 26, 1820 | after= [[Aaron Hobart]]}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Zabdiel}} [[Category:1781 births]] [[Category:1828 deaths]] [[Category:Brown University alumni]] [[Category:Politicians from Plymouth, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:People from Plympton, Massachusetts]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]