Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761 - May 4, 1816) was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinet.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to the Rev. Samuel Dexter, the 4th minister of Dedham, he graduated from Harvard University in 1781 and then studied law at Worcester under Levi Lincoln, Sr., the future Attorney General of the United States. After he passed the bar in 1784, he began practicing in Lunenburg, Massach...
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Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761 - May 4, 1816) was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinet.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to the Rev. Samuel Dexter, the 4th minister of Dedham, he graduated from Harvard University in 1781 and then studied law at Worcester under Levi Lincoln, Sr., the future Attorney General of the United States. After he passed the bar in 1784, he began practicing in Lunenburg, Massachusetts.
He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and served 1788 to 1790. He was elected to the 3rd Congress by way of the United States House of Representatives and then elected as Federalist to the United States Senate. In December 1799, he memorably wrote the memorial eulogy to George Washington upon the first president's death. His house in Dedham stands to today.
He served for less than a year as he was appointed United States Secretary of War by President John Adams in 1800. During his time at this station he urged...
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