Daniel Appleton White

Daniel Appleton White was born on June 7, 1776 in what is now Lawrence, Massachusetts to John and Elizabeth (Haynes) White. The early part of his life took place on the family farm. In June 1792, he left the farm to study law with Silas Dinsmoor at Atkinson Academy in New Hampshire.

He was then admitted to Harvard College in July 1793.Graduating with highest honors from Harvard in 1797, he worked as a teacher in Medford Massachusetts at the town’s grammar school while also serving as a tutor in Latin at Harvard. In addition to this he continued to study law and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1804. He lived in Salem for a brief time from 1803 to 1804 and then moved to Newburyport.

He established a law practice there. In 1817, he returned to Salem. He served as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1810 to 1815, when he was elected as an Essex County judge and resigned from the Senate, in spite of the protests from some of his friends. He held that office until 1853. He was also an active member of the Essex Institute and the Massachusetts Historical Society.

White was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Law from Harvard in 1837.  He served on the Harvard Board of Overseers from 1842 to 1853. Married three times, first to Mary Wilder, then to Eliza Orne, and finally to Ruth Rogers.  He had three children from the first two marriages: Mary and Eliza with his first wife and then Henry with his second.

He was a founding member of the Essex County Lyceum, and was also President of the Essex Institute from its founding in 1848 until his death He died on March 30, 1861. Daniel Appleton White was buried at Harmony Grove Cemetery, Chapel Ave, Lot 212, Grave 6.

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Photo: Wikipedia

Sources Consulted:

• Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.
• Collection Overview of the Papers of Daniel Appleton White, via Hollis, Harvard Library catalog.
• Wikipedia.