Stephen Higginson (Continental Congress)
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Stephen Higginson | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Higginson by Gilbert Stuart | |
| Member of the Second Continental Congress | |
| In office 1783 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 28, 1743 |
| Died | November 28, 1828 (aged 85) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | Central Burying Ground |
| Party | Federalist |
| Spouses | Susanna Cleveland
(m. 1764–1788)Elizabeth Perkins
(m. 1789, died)Sarah Perkins (m. 1792) |
| Relatives | George Cabot (cousin) Francis Higginson (great-great-great-grandfather) |
Stephen Higginson (November 28, 1743 – November 28, 1828) was an American merchant and shipmaster from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress in 1783. He took an active part in suppressing Shays' Rebellion, was the author of the Laco letters (1789), and served the United States government as navy agent from May 11 to June 22, 1798. Although he was a privateer during the American Revolutionary War he became a "blue light", extreme-Federalist during the War of 1812 and was one of the members of the Essex Junto.[citation needed]
Stephen Higginson was born on November 28, 1743, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth (née Cabot) and Stephen Higginson. He attended common schools in Salem. He began work as a merchant in the counting room of Deacon Smith of Boston.[1][2]: 13–15 His great-great-great-grandfather was reverend Francis Higginson.[2]: 10–13 His double first cousin was George Cabot.[2]: 40
Career
Higginson worked in mercantile and was a shipmaster from 1765 to 1775.[1] In 1778, he moved from Salem to Boston to become a partner with Jonathan Jackson. He served in the Massachusetts legislature in 1782 and was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress in 1783. Along with his fellow Massachusetts delegates Holten and Gorham, he signed a protest against the denial of Elbridge Gerry's right in calling for ayes and nays.[1][2]: 52 He was part of a group of Federalists called the Essex Junto, which included his cousin George Cabot and Theophilus Parsons.[2]: 41–42 He was the author of the Laco letters in February and March 1789.[2]: 125 He became justice of the peace in Massachusetts in 1782 and of the Quorum in 1788.[2]: 233
In February 1784, he became a director of a bank in Boston led by Governor James Bowdoin.[2]: 233 Higginson served as a naval officer at the Port of Boston from 1797 to 1808. He took an active part in suppressing Shays' Rebellion and served as lieutenant colonel in the Boston regiment.[1]
