Josiah Butler (December 4, 1779 – October 27, 1854) was an American politician and a United States representative from New Hampshire.

Josiah Butler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Hampshire's At-Large district
In office
March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823
Preceded byCharles H. Atherton
Succeeded byGeorge Cassedy
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1814–1816
Personal details
Born(1779-12-04)December 4, 1779
Pelham, Hillsborough County
New Hampshire, US
DiedOctober 27, 1854(1854-10-27) (aged 74)
Deerfield, Rockingham County
New Hampshire, US
Resting placeFarmington Cemetery
Farmington, New Hampshire
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseHannah Jenness Butler
ChildrenDeWitt Clinton Butler
Horace Butler
Josiah W Butler
Elizabeth H Butler
Lydia J Butler
Franklin I Butler
Franklin Jenness Butler
Wentworth S Butler
Caroline L Butler
Mary J Butler
Parent(s)Nehemiah Butler
Lyndia Wood Butler
Alma materHarvard University
ProfessionLawyer
Judge
Politician

Early life

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Born in Pelham, New Hampshire, Butler attended the Londonderry and Atkinson academies and was instructed by private tutors. He graduated from Harvard University in 1803 and taught school in Virginia for three years. He then studied law with Clifton Claggett of Amherst and Governor Cabot of Virginia and was admitted to the bar of Virginia in 1807.[1]

Career

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Upon his return to Pelham, Butler commenced practice in 1807, then moved to Deerfield, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, in 1809. He served as the sheriff of Rockingham County from 1810 to 1813 and then served as the clerk of the court of common pleas. An unsuccessful candidate for election in 1812 to the Thirteenth Congress, he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1814 to 1816.

Elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fifteenth Congress and reelected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses, Butler served as United States Representative for the state of New Hampshire from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1823.[2] In Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture (Seventeenth Congress). After leaving congressional service, he served as an associate justice of the New Hampshire Court of Common Pleas from 1825 to 1835.[3]

Death

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Butler died in Deerfield on October 27, 1854 (age 74 years, 327 days). He is interred in Granite Cemetery, South Deerfield, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States.

Family life

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Son of Nehemiah and Lyndia Wood, Butler married Hannah Jenness and they had ten children: DeWitt Clinton, Horace, Josiah W., Elizabeth H., Lydia J., Franklin I., Franklin Jenness, Wentworth S., Caroline L., and Mary J.[4]

References

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  1. ^ American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge ... Comprising a Calendar for the Year. Gray and Bowen, 1855. 1855. p. 348. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. ^ "H. Rept. 17-22 - Report of the Committee of Elections. January 21, 1822. Ordered to lie on the table". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  3. ^ Cogswell, Elliot Colby (1878). History of Nottingham, Deerfield, and Northwood, comprised within the original limits of Nottingham, Rockingham County, N.H., with records of the centennial proceedings at Northwood, and genealogical sketches .. (1878). Manchester N. H. John B. Clarke 1878. pp. 336–338. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Josiah Butler". 1997-2014 Ancestry.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Hampshire

1817–1823
Succeeded by