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  • 1810-1815: U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 11th district
  • 1807-1809: Member of the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesIn office

Abijah Bigelow was born 5 December 1775 in Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States to Elisha Bigelow (1728-1814) and Sarah Goodridge (1731-1807) and died 5 April 1860 Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States of unspecified causes. He married Hannah Gardner (1780-1857) 23 March 1804 in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States.

Biography

orn in Westminster in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Elisha and Sarah (Goodridge) Bigelow, Abijah Bigelow studied at Leicester (Massachusetts) Academy and New Ipswich Academy at New Ipswich, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1795. He studied law in Groton, Massachusetts. He was admitted to the Worcester County bar in 1798 and commenced practice in Leominster, Massachusetts, in the same year. He was town clerk of Leominster 1803–1809. He served as member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 1807–1809. He was a Justice of the Peace 1809-1860 and justice of the quorum 1812–1860.

Bigelow was elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Stedman. He was reelected to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses and served from October 8, 1810, to March 3, 1815. He viewed the War of 1812 in a decidedly negative light.

Bigelow moved to Worcester in 1817, and served as clerk of the courts of Worcester County 1817–1833. He resumed the practice of law, and served as trustee of Leicester Academy in 1819-1820 and as treasurer 1820–1853. He was appointed a master in chancery in 1838. He died in Worcester, Massachusetts, April 5, 1860, and was interred in the Rural Cemetery.

Bigelow was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813,[1] and subsequently served on its board of councilors from 1817 to 1828.[2] The Antiquarian Society also holds a collection of manuscripts generated by Abijah and his extended family from 1785 to 1883.[3] His correspondence with his wife Hannah Gardner Bigelow (1780–1857) while he was a congressman was also published in 1930 in volume 40 of the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, with the title "The Letters of Abijah Bigelow, Member of Congress, to his Wife, 1810-1815."[4]

Abijah and his wife Hannah had nine children, seven of whom survived their father. Hannah Bigelow's brother Francis was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.



Children


Offspring of Abijah Bigelow and Hannah Gardner (1780-1857)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Sarah Bigelow (1805-1886)
Francis Elisha Bigelow (1807-1880)
Susan Bigelow (1809-1883)
Baby Bigelow (1810-1810)
Hannah Bigelow (1812-1874)
Abijah Bigelow (1814-1817)
Lucinda Gardner Bigelow (1815-1875)
Elizabeth Bigelow (1817-1838)
Anne Gardner Bigelow (1818-1875)
Mary Bigelow (1821-1872)



Siblings


Offspring of Elisha Bigelow (1728-1814) and Sarah Goodridge (1731-1807)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Baby Boy Bigelow (1758-1758)
Susanah Bigelow (1759-1767)
Ephraim Bigelow (1761-1835)
Sarah Bigelow (1763-1843)
Elisha Bigelow (1765-1767)
Elisha Bigelow (1767-1835)
Susanah Bigelow (1769-1777)
Abijah Bigelow (1775-1860) 5 December 1775 Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States 5 April 1860 Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States Hannah Gardner (1780-1857)
Charles Bigelow (1782-)
Lambert Bigelow (1785-)

Residences

See Also

References

  1. ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
  2. ^ Dunbar, B. (1987). Members and Officers of the American Antiquarian Society. Worcester: American Antiquarian Society.
  3. ^ "Bigelow family". http://catalog.mwa.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=271229. 
  4. ^ "Letters of Abijah Bigelow, Member of Congress, to his Wife, 1810-1815." Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 40: 305-406. 1930

House Succession Box

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
William Stedman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 11th congressional districtWp globe tiny

1810–1815
Succeeded by
Elijah Brigham



Footnotes (including sources)

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