Charles Humphrey Atherton

Charles Humphrey Atherton (August 14, 1773 – January 8, 1853),[1] an American Federalist politician, banker and a distinguished attorney from New Hampshire.[2]

Charles Humphrey Atherton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's At-large Congressional district
In office March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817
Preceded by	Samuel Smith
Succeeded by	Nathaniel Upham
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office 1823–1839
Personal details
Born	August 14, 1773 Amherst, Province of New Hampshire, British America
Died	January 8, 1853 (aged 79) Amherst, New Hampshire, U.S.
Resting place	Old Cemetery Amherst, New Hampshire
Citizenship	U.S.
Political party	Federalist
Spouse(s)	Mary Ann Toppan Atherton
Relations	William Gordon
Children	Charles G. Atherton
Alma mater	Harvard University
Profession	Lawyer Politician Farmer Banker

Atherton served once as a United States Representative from New Hampshire from 1815-1817, but did not seek re-election.[3] He was thrice elected to the state legislature and was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1823, 1838 and 1839.[4]

Early life

He was the son of Joshua Atherton and Abigail (Goss) Atherton.[5]

Education

He graduated from Harvard University in 1794,[6] and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[7]

Career

Atherton had a law practice in Amherst, New Hampshire, having been admitted to the bar in 1797.[8]

He served as register of probate for Hillsborough County from 1798-1807.[9]

He delivered a eulogy on George Washington, who died on December 14, 1799; at Amherst.[10]

He was elected as a Federalist candidate to the United States House of Representatives in the Fourteenth United States Congress, he served in Congress from March 4, 1815 to March 3, 1817.[11] He declined to run for reelection in 1816 and instead served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1823-1839.

He was president of the board of directors of the Farmers' Bank when it was formed in 1825 and served during the existence of the corporation.

After leaving the State House, he resumed the practice of law and was one of the founders of the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society.[12]

Other interests

Atherton was a prominent figure in the local Unitarian movement, he later helped establish The Christian Society in Amherst.[13]

He was a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society,[14] and was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.[15] He prepared various papers for the New Hampshire Historical Society.[4] He delivered an address in Concord at their annual meeting on June 8, 1831.[16]

In his final years he published his father's memoirs titled “Memoir of the Hon Joshua Atherton“, published in 1852, by Crosby, Nichol and Company of Boston.[17]

He was painted by artist Gilbert Stuart in Boston in 1823.

Personal life

On October 30, 1803, Atherton married Mary Ann Toppan.[18] They had seven children, and their son Charles Gordon Atherton was a United States Senator.[19][20] Atherton's brother-in-law William Gordon was also a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.[5]

He became a widow after the passing of his wife Mary, who died on October 15, 1817, just five months after childbirth and left four surviving children: James (aged 4), Mary (aged 7), George (aged 9) and Charles (aged 13).

Atherton who had not sought re-election in 1816, is likely to have focused on his family's needs. He returned to politics, albeit at State level in 1823.

Death

Atherton died in Amherst, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, on January 8, 1853 (age 79 years, 147 days). [21] He is interred at Old Cemetery in Amherst, New Hampshire, along with his wife Mary (died on October 15, 1817) and five of their children.[22] He had accumulated one of the largest estates ever left in Amherst.[23]

Descendants

The following 4 children died young

[24]

• Mary Anne Atherton (July 11, 1806 - September 24, 1807, aged 14 months).
• Christopher Atherton (Aug 6, 1815 - May 3, 1816, aged nine months).
• Henry Atherton (May 19, 1817 - May 19, 1817, aged 1 day).
• George Atherton (September 25, 1808 - April 10, 1825, aged 16). He was a member of the Junior Class of Harvard College.

All were laid to rest in the family grave at Old Cemetery, Amherst, NH.

The following children died after the death of Charles Humphrey Atherton:

• James Humphrey Atherton (1813-1837, died in New York, aged 24)
• Mary Ann Toppan Atherton (December 18, 1810 - January 26, 1853, aged 42). She survived her father by just 18 days.
• Charles Gordon Atherton (July 4, 1804 – November 15, 1853, aged 49)

Ancestry

His grandfather was Colonel Peter Atherton.

He is a direct descendant of James Atherton,[25][26] one of the First Settlers of New England; who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630s.

See also

• New Hampshire Historical Society
• Historical Society of Amherst

References

1. "Boston Athenaeum: Picture of Charles H. Atherton".
2. "Atherton One Name Study - Entry for Charles Humphrey Atherton".
3. Herringshaw, Thomas William (1909). Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography. p. 165.
4. Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John (1888). "Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 1".
5. Bell, Charles Henry (1893). The bench and bar of New Hampshire: including biographical notices of deceased judges of the highest court, and lawyers of the province and state, and a list of names of those now living. Houghton, Mifflin and company. p. 147.
6. Harvard University (1915). Quinquennial Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Harvard University, 1636-1915. Harvard University Press. p. 158.
7. Phi Beta Kappa. Mass. Alpha, Harvard university (1839). A Catalogue of the Fraternity of # B K, Alpha of Massachusetts... Harvard University, Cambridge, 1839. Folsom, Wells, and Thurston. p. 10.
8. Poore, Benjamin Perley (1878). The Political Register and Congressional Directory: A Statistical Record of the Federal Officials, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial, of the United States of America, 1776-1878. Houghton, Osgood. p. 264.
9. Palmer, Joseph (1864). MECROLOGY OF ALUMNI OF HARVARD COLLEGE. Joseph Palmer. p. 12.
10. Eulogy on Gen. George Washington, Late President of the United States, Who Died December 14, 1799; Delivered at Amherst, N. H. Before the Inhabitants of the Town of Amherst. April 25, 2018. ISBN 9781385813256.
11. O. Everett (1852). The Christian Examiner, Volumes 53-54. O. Everett. p. 349.
12. "Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal, Volumes 5-6".
13. "Charles Humphrey Atherton". The Cabinet © 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
14. J. T. White Company (1901). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time, Volume 11. J. T. White Company. p. 460.
15. "American Antiquarian Society Members Directory". Americanantiquarian.org. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
16. "An address delivered at Concord, New Hampshire before the New-Hampshire historical society, at their annual meeting, June 8, 1831 by the Hon. Charles H. Atherton".
17. "Memoir of the Hon. Joshua Atherton. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library | HathiTrust Digital Library". Babel.hathitrust.org. March 14, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
18. Means, Anne Middleton (1921). Amherst and Our Family Tree. Priv. print. p. 66.
19. "Charles Gordon Atherton". 2014 Geni.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
20. "ATHERTON, Charles Gordon, (1804 - 1853)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
21. "Charles H. Atherton Obituary".
22. Charles Humphrey Atherton at Find a Grave
23. Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried: A Directory Containing More Than Twenty Thousand Names of Notable Persons Buried in American Cemeteries, with Listings of Many Prominent People who Were Cremated. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 221. ISBN 9780806348230.
24. Secomb, Daniel Franklin. "History of the Town of Amherst, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire". p. 486.
25. "James Atherton entry on the Atherton ONS".
26. "James Atherton of Dorchester settled in Lancaster Massachusetts in 1654".

External links

• United States Congress. "Charles Humphrey Atherton (id: A000324)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.