Laban Wheaton (March 13, 1754 – March 23, 1846) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.

Laban Wheaton
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts
In office
March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1817
Preceded byJosiah Dean
Succeeded byMarcus Morton (10th)
Constituency9th district (1809–15)
10th district (1815–17)
Chief Justice of the
Court of Sessions for Bristol County
In office
May 25, 1819 – 1820
Preceded byJosiah Dean[1]
Succeeded byOffice Abolished
Chief Justice of
The Court of Common Pleas of Bristol County
In office
May 18, 1810 – May 25, 1819
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1803-1808
1825
Personal details
Born(1754-03-13)March 13, 1754
Mansfield, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
DiedMarch 23, 1846(1846-03-23) (aged 92)
Norton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeNorton Cemetery
Political partyFederalist
ChildrenLaban M. Wheaton[2]
Eliza Wheaton Strong
Alma materHarvard College
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and education

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Born in Mansfield in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Wheaton attended Wrentham Academy. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1774. He studied theology under a private instructor at Woodstock, Connecticut. He also studied law.

Wheaton was admitted to the bar in 1788 and commenced practice in Milton, Massachusetts.

Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

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Wheaton served as member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1803–1808, and again in 1825.

Judicial career

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Wheaton served as judge of the Bristol County Court. He was appointed chief justice of the court of common pleas of Bristol County May 18, 1810, which position he held until appointed chief justice of the court of sessions for Bristol County[1] on May 25, 1819, but this court was abolished in 1820.[3]

Election to congress

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Wheaton was elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1817).

In 1834 Wheaton established the Wheaton Female Seminary (now Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts) as a memorial to his recently deceased daughter, Eliza Wheaton Strong.

Death and burial

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Wheaton died in Norton, Massachusetts, on March 23, 1846, at the age of 92. He was interred in Norton Cemetery.

References

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  • United States Congress. "Laban Wheaton (id: W000329)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Davis, William Thomas (1895), Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume II, Boston, MA: The Boston History Company, pp. 237–238
  2. ^ Davis, William Thomas (1895), Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume II, Boston, MA: The Boston History Company, p. 336
  3. ^ Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1883), History of Bristol County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 2, Philadelphia, PA: J. W. Lewis & Co., p. 627
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 9th congressional district

March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1815
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 10th congressional district

March 3, 1815 – 1817
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by
Judge of the Bristol County Court Succeeded by
Preceded by
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of Bristol County
May 18, 1810 – May 25, 1819
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions for Bristol County
May 25, 1819 – 1820
Succeeded by
Office Abolished

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress