From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American politician
Samuel Chilton
|
---|
|
Born
| September 7, 1804
|
---|
Died
| January 14, 1867
(1867-01-14)
(aged 62)
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Politician, lawyer
|
---|
Spouse
| Isabella R. Brooke (m. 1832)
|
---|
Children
| 5
|
---|
Samuel Chilton
(September 7, 1804 – January 14, 1867) was a 19th-century politician and lawyer from
Virginia
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in
Warrenton, Virginia
, Chilton moved to
Missouri
with his family as a child and attended private school there. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1826, commencing practice back in Warrenton. He got involved in politics and was elected a
Whig
to the
United States House of Representatives
in 1842 when he narrowly defeated
William "Extra Billy" Smith
following a redistricting. Chilton served one term from 1843 to 1845, during which he advocated abolishing imprisonment for debt. Afterward, he returned to practicing law and was a delegate to the
Virginia Constitutional Convention
from 1850 to 1851. At the convention he proposed a key compromise on legislative apportionment.
Chilton moved to Washington, D.C., by 1853 and became a member of
American Party
, or
Know-Nothings
. Despite having owned slaves, in 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for
abolitionist
John Brown
after his previous defense attorneys advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.
[1]
Chilton died in Warrenton on January 14, 1867, and was interred there at
Warrenton Cemetery
.
Sources
[
edit
]
- John T. Kneebone et al., eds.,
Dictionary of Virginia Biography
(Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 1998- ), 3:217-218.
ISBN
0-88490-206-4
.
- Death date in obituary, Warrenton
True Index
, 12, January 19, 1867.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|