James Appleton
General James Appleton | |
---|---|
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Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
In office 1836–1839 | |
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
In office 1813–1834 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Ipswich, Massachusetts | February 14, 1785
Died | August 25, 1862 Ipswich, Massachusetts | (aged 77)
Nationality | American |
Political party | Federalist, Whig, Liberty |
Spouse |
Sarah Fuller
(m. 1807) |
Relations | William Appleton (cousin) Samuel Appleton (cousin) Nathan Appleton (cousin) |
Children | 10 |
Parent(s) | Samuel Appleton Mary White |
Relatives | Appleton family |
Occupation | Publisher |
Signature | ![]() |
Brigadier General James Appleton (February 14, 1785 – August 25, 1862)[1] was an American abolitionist, early supporter of temperance, and politician from Maine.[2]
Early life
[edit]Appleton was born on February 14, 1785, in Ipswich, Massachusetts, on a family farm that had been granted to his ancestor, Samuel Appleton, in 1636.[3] His parents were Samuel Appleton (1738–1819) and Mary (née White) Appleton (d. 1834), daughter of Rev. Timothy White,[4] and his younger brothers were Timothy Appleton (1778–1857) and Samuel Appleton (1771–1852).[5]
His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth Sawyer (1709–1785) and Isaac Appleton (1704–1794), the son of Isaac Appleton (1664–1747) and Priscilla Baker, granddaughter of Lt. Gov. Samuel Symonds.[6] Appleton was also the cousin of U.S. Rep.William Appleton (1786–1862), merchant Samuel Appleton (1766–1853), and U.S. Rep. Nathan Appleton (1779–1861).[3]
Career
[edit]Appleton fought in the War of 1812, commissioned July 3, 1813,[7] and earned the rank of Lieutenant colonel with the Massachusetts Militia and was later promoted to the rank of Brigadier general.[8] He commanded actions at Sandy Bay in September 1814 and Gallop's Folly in October 1814.[7] Appleton lived much of his life in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and nearby Marblehead, Massachusetts, prior to moving to Maine.[2]
Massachusetts General Court
[edit]In 1813 and 1814, at the age of 28, Appleton, a practicing lawyer, was elected to represent Gloucester as a Federalist to the Massachusetts legislature where he was an outspoken critic of the Missouri Compromise.[8] In 1824, he was the official escort of the Marquis de Lafayette upon his visit to Boston.[5] In 1832, he presented a petition to the Massachusetts legislature prohibiting sales of liquor in fewer quantities than thirty gallons.[4]
Maine politics
[edit]In 1833, he moved to Portland, Maine, and was elected to the Maine House of Representatives[2] in 1836. The following year, he was chairman of a committee to consider the license system.[4] In 1837,[9] he submitted a report on the evils of liquor that became the basis of the Maine Temperance Law of 1846.[10] The report was considered by Neal Dow to be the first official document in the history of Maine prohibiting the liquor traffic.[4]
In 1839 and 1840, he was vice president of the American Anti-Slavery Society.[11]
In the 1842, 1843, and 1844 gubernatorial elections, Appleton ran for Governor of Maine with the Liberty Party, an abolitionist political party.[11] In 1848, he was a Free Soil presidential elector supporting Martin Van Buren.[11]
In 1861, during the Civil War, James gave patriotic speeches defending the Union and in support of abolition.[5]
Personal life
[edit]On November 15, 1807,[4] he was married to Sarah Fuller (1787–1872), the daughter of Rev. Daniel Fuller and Hannah Bowers, of Gloucester. Together, they were the parents of:[12][3]
- Samuel Gilman Appleton (1808–1873), who married Sarah Gardiner, daughter of Rev. Sylvester Gardiner, in 1839.[12]
- Sarah Fuller Appleton (1811–1884), who married Rev. Stephen Caldwell Millett in 1833.[12]
- James Appleton (1813–1884), who married Sarah Bristol Edwards, daughter of Samuel L. Edwards, in 1842.[12]
- Mary White Appleton (1815–1905), who did not marry.[12]
- Elizabeth Putnam Appleton (1818–1897), who married Shelton L. Hall in 1845.[12]
- Joanna Dodge Appleton (1821–1870), who married Peyton R. Morgan in 1843.[12]
- Hannah Fuller Appleton (1823–1903), who married Robert Helyer Thayer (1820–1888).[12]
- Daniel Fuller Appleton (1826–1904), who married Julia Randall (d. 1886), daughter of Nicholas P. Randall. After her death, he married Susan Cowles, daughter of John P. Cowles, in 1889.[12]
- Harriette Hooper Appleton (1828–1905), who married Rev. John Cotton Smith, rector of St John's Church, Portland, and later of the Church of the Ascension in New York City, in 1849.[12]
- Anna Whittemore Appleton (1831–); married Dr. Charles H. Osgood, in 1852.[12]
He lived in Portland from 1833 until 1853 when his elder brother, Timothy Appleton, called him to help manage the family farm in Ipswich.[6] He retired back to Ipswich, buying out his father's surviving heirs and became the sole owner of Appleton Farm in 1857. He died there in 1862.[2][3]
Descendants
[edit]Through his son, Daniel, he was the grandfather of 36 including Francis Randall Appleton, a noted New York society man during the Gilded Age.
Honors
[edit]The Woman's Relief Corps gave a marker on Ipswich's North Green, named in honor of Appleton and in memory of the unknown soldiers and sailors of the Civil War.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "MHS Collections Online: James Appleton". www.masshist.org. Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Appleton, Daniel Fuller (1886). The Origin of the Maine Law and of Prohibitory Legislation: With a Brief Memoir of James Appleton. National temperance society and publication house. pp. 15–. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Appleton, William Sumner (1873). A Rough Sketch of the Appleton Genealogy. T.R. Marvin & Son. p. 26. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Hannan, Caryn (2008). Massachusetts Biographical Dictionary. State History Publications. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9781878592668. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Dolan, Susan Hill; Campbell, Rebecca Gardner (Fall 2013). "Generations of Appleton Family Portraits" (PDF). thetrustees.org. Ipswich, Massachusetts: The Trustees of Reservations. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ a b "Appleton Family Papers" (PDF). thetrustees.access.preservica.com. Sharon, MA: The Trustees of Reservations, Archives & Research Center. April 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Webb, Henry Randall; Noble, Henry Harmon (June 1, 1908). The Constitution and Register of Membership of the General Society of the War of 1812. Philadelphia, PA: The Order of the General Society | The Law Reporter Printing Co. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ a b "Boston's Crusade Against Slavery - Houghton Library". hcl.harvard.edu. Harvard University. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ Byrne 1961, pp. 24–26.
- ^ Byrne, Frank L. (1961). Prophet of Prohibition: Neal Dow and His Crusade. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. OCLC 2126034.
- ^ a b c Johnson, Reinhard O. (2009). The Liberty Party, 1840-1848: Antislavery Third-Party Politics in the United States. LSU Press. p. 380. ISBN 9780807142639. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cutter, William Richard (1913). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 179. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
External links
[edit]- Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- 1785 births
- 1862 deaths
- Appleton family
- People from Ipswich, Massachusetts
- People from Marblehead, Massachusetts
- Politicians from Portland, Maine
- Members of the Maine House of Representatives
- People from Massachusetts in the War of 1812
- Temperance activists from Maine
- Maine Federalists
- Maine Libertyites
- American militia generals
- Abolitionists from Maine
- Military personnel from Massachusetts
- American militiamen in the War of 1812