John Varnum (1778 - 1836)

Biography

John Varnum was born on 25 June 1778 in Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the son of Parker and Dorcas (Brown) Varnum.^[1]

He was a graduate of Harvard College in 1798. He entered the office of Judge Henry Smith of Exeter, New Hampshire as a law student. In 1802, he moved to Haverhill and began his own law practice.^[2] He received his A.M. degree from his alma mater (in 1807?).^[2]

He married first to Mary Cooke Saltonstall on 09 October 1806 in Haverhill,^[3] the daughter of Dr. Nathaniel and Anna (White) Saltonstall. Mary was born on 20 September 1780 and died on 07 August 1817.^[2] They had three sons.

He was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 1818. In 1826, he was a representative in the US House for his district and served two terms during President John Quincy Adams' administration.^[2]

He was elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and to the succeeding Congress; elected as an Anti-Jacksonian candidate to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1825-March 3, 1831).^[4]

He was mentioned in Adams' papers on 19 February 1828:^[5]

• • Dr Parker of Rhode-Island, had left here yesterday a Letter of Introduction from John Varnum, a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts— He came to recommend a person, for the appointment of Consul at Port au Prince, upon which I referred him to the Secretary of State, informing that the appointment if made, must be of an informal commercial agency, and with a probable prospect of not being recognized; as they had refused to act upon representations from our last commercial agent there, Andrew Armstrong on the ground that we declined to recognize the Haytian Government as Sovereign and Independent.

On 20 January 1826 and 25 April 1828 he dined with the President.^[6][7] "We had company to dine— B. V. and F Crowninshield S. A. Foot and his two Sons, Jonathan Hunt, Mr Mather, Dr James Mease, Alfred H. Powell, W. H. Prescott, John Reed, John W. Taylor, George Ticknor, John Varnum, Daniel Webster, and David Woodcock."

While he was a member of Congress from Massachusetts he married a second time to Mrs. Mary (Pease) Varnum on 23 May 1826. She was the widow of James Mitchell Varnum of Washington, DC. John and his second wife had no children together.^[2] She died on 10 September 1847, age 64, and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC.^[8]

After his retirement from political life he removed from Haverhill to Dracut and took possession of a farm previously owned by his brother, and opened an office in Lowell to renew his law practice. A few years later he removed with his sons to Michigan. In 1836, he died in Niles. He was said to have been a tall, fine-looking man with a distinguished presence and was a great conversationalist.^[2] He was buried in the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles. His gravestone provides a death date of 23 July 1836.^[9]

Children of John and Mary Cooke (Saltonstall) Varnum:^[2]

1. Nathaniel Saltonstall Varnum, b. 19 Jul 1812. US Army, died in the construction of the railroad across Panama.
2. John Jay Varnum, b. 05 Dec 1814.
3. Richard Saltonstall Varnum, b. 12 Apr 1817; mar. (1) Sarah Potter, (2) Harriet Chanplin.

Sources

1. ↑ Brown, Henry Ernest, Vital Records of Dracut, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. : NEHGS, 1907) p. 115. Archive.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Varnum, John M. The Varnums of Dracut (Boston, 1907), pages 71, 90-3
3. ↑ Topsfield Historical Society, compiler, Vital Records of Haverhill, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Salem, MA: Newcomb & Gauss Printers, 1910), Vol. 2, p. 275. Archive.org
4. ↑ Biographical Directory of the US Congress, "Bioguide Search. Accessed July 12, 2024. VARNUM, John, 1778 – 1836.
5. ↑ “John Quincy Adams Digital Diary.” Accessed July 11, 2024. 19 February 1828 Volume 37.
6. ↑ “John Quincy Adams Digital Diary.” Accessed July 11, 2024. 20 January 1826 Volume 37.
7. ↑ “John Quincy Adams Digital Diary.” Accessed July 11, 2024. [https://www.primarysourcecoop.org/publications/jqa/document/jqadiaries-v37-1828-04-p488--entry25?navmode=searchresults&doci=2. 25 April 1828 Volume 37.]
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144251144/mary-varnum: accessed June 29, 2024), memorial page for Mary Pease Varnum (5 Mar 1783–10 Sep 1847), Find A Grave: Memorial #144251144, citing Congressional Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA; Maintained by Archivist, Congressional Cemetery (contributor 46570972). (Includes gravestone photo.)
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7423803/john-varnum: accessed July 16, 2024), memorial page for John Varnum (25 Jun 1778–23 Jul 1836), Find A Grave: Memorial #7423803, citing Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles, Berrien County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave. (Includes gravestone photo.)

• See also:

• "John Varnum," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed July 12, 2024).