Nathaniel SILSBEE, Congress, MA (1773-1850)

SILSBEE, Nathaniel, a Representative and a Senator from Massachusetts; born in Salem, Mass., on January 14, 1773; attended private schools; went to sea and became a sea captain, ship owner and merchant; held several local offices in Salem and Boston; elected to the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1821); was not a candidate for renomination; elected to the State house of representatives in 1821; member, State senate 1823-1825, serving as president; presidential elector in 1824; elected to the United States Senate in 1826 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Lloyd; reelected in 1829 and served from May 31, 1826, to March 3, 1835; declined to be a candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on Commerce (Twenty-third Congress); Whig presidential elector in 1836; resumed mercantile pursuits in Salem, Mass., where he died on July 14, 1850; interment in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present