Jeremiah Wadsworth

Jeremiah Wadsworth (July 12, 1743 – April 30, 1804) was an American sea captain, merchant, and statesman from Hartford, Connecticut who profited from his position as a government official charged with supplying the Continental Army. He represented Connecticut in both the Continental Congress and the United States House of Representatives.

Early life He was a son of Daniel Wadsworth and Abigail ( Talcott) Wadsworth. He was a descendant of William Wadsworth, one of the founders of Hartford and a pastor of the town's Center Congregational Church. He went to sea in 1761 at the age of 18 for health reasons, starting as a regular sailor on one of his uncle's ships.

During the American Revolution

When the war started, Wadsworth was appointed to a committee charged with buying 5,000 pairs of yarn stockings for the army (which had already been sent to Canada). He served on another committee to procure 1,800 pounds of "lawful money in specie" in exchange for bills for use by the army. The Connecticut General Assembly later commissioned him and Col. Jonathan Fitch to find a large number of tin kettles for the army. The next assignment was to buy up as much pork as he could (both to furnish the American army and to keep it out of the hands and stomachs of the British forces).

After the Revolution Wadsworth became a "pioneer in banking, insurance, and the breeding of cattle" after the war, according to historian North Callahan.

He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1788 and a member of the Connecticut convention which ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788. From 1789 to 1795 he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Wadsworth initially lost reelection in 1790 but was specially reelected when his initial successor Pierpont Edwards declined to take his seat. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1795 and of the state Executive Council from 1795 to 1801, and simultaneously served as a judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors.

He was appointed Treaty Commissioner, by George Washington, at the Treaty of Big Tree between the U.S. and the Seneca nation in 1797.

Personal life In 1767, Wadsworth married Mehithabel Russell, a daughter of William H. Russell and Mary ( Pierpont) Russell. His domestic arrangements were described by Lydia Sigourney in her memoirs. He built two mansions near his own house, one for his daughter Catharine, who had married Nathaniel Terry, and one for his son, Daniel Wadsworth.

He died in Hartford, Connecticut, April 30, 1804, and is interred in the Ancient Burying Ground.

Legacy

Footnotes