Prentiss Mellen
| Prentiss Mellen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States Senator from Massachusetts |
|
| In office June 5, 1818 – May 15, 1820 |
|
| Preceded by | Eli P. Ashmun |
| Succeeded by | Elijah H. Mills |
| First Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
|
| In office July 1, 1820–October 11, 1834 |
|
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Nathan Weston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 11, 1764 Sterling, Massachusetts |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Portland, Maine |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Hudson[1] |
| Children | Grenville Mellen;[2] Frederic Mellen[3] |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Congregationalism |
Prentiss Mellen (October 11, 1764 – December 31, 1840) was a Senator from Massachusetts; born in Sterling, Massachusetts to Rev. John and Rebecca (Prentiss) Mellen.[4] Mellen graduated from Harvard University in 1784; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1788 and commenced practice in Sterling and Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and in Dover, New Hampshire; moved to Biddeford, Massachusetts (later a part of the State of Maine in 1820), around 1791 and practiced law; settled in Portland, Maine, around 1806; member of the Massachusetts Executive Council 1808-1809, 1817; presidential elector in 1817; trustee of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine from 1817 to 1836; elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Eli P. Ashmun and served from June 5, 1818, to May 15, 1820, when he resigned; upon the admission of the State of Maine into the Union in 1820 became chief justice of the supreme court of that State and served until his resignation in 1834, when age disqualified him;[5] member and chairman of the commission to revise and codify the public statutes of Maine in 1838; died in Portland, Maine, December 31, 1840; interment in Western Cemetery.
In 1833, Mellen was the first President of a newly formed abolitionist society formed in Portland. Samuel Fessenden and Methodist Rev. Gershom A. Cox were the vice-presidents.[6]
Notes
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- ↑ The Abolitionist, Volume 1 Page 95
References
Dictionary of American Biography; Greenleaf, Simon. “Memoir of the Life and Character of the Late Chief Justice Mellen.” Maine Reports 17 (1841): 467-76.
External links
- Prentiss Mellen at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Prentiss Mellen at Find a Grave
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Massachusetts 1818–1820 Served alongside: Harrison Gray Otis |
Succeeded by Elijah H. Mills |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by
None
|
Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court July 1, 1820 – October 11, 1834 |
Succeeded by Nathan Weston |
| Class 1 |
 |
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|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
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- Politicians from Portland, Maine
- People from Sterling, Massachusetts
- United States Senators from Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Federalists
- Harvard University alumni
- 1764 births
- 1840 deaths
- Massachusetts lawyers
- Chief Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
- People from Biddeford, Maine
- People from Dover, New Hampshire
- Federalist Party United States Senators
- American abolitionists
- Burials at Western Cemetery (Portland, Maine)
