Erastus Foote (September 19, 1777 – July 14, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a supporter of Maine statehood and served as the state's first Attorney General.
Erastus Foote | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Attorney General of Maine | |
| In office 1820–1831 | |
| Preceded by | inaugural officeholder |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan P. Rogers |
| Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
| In office 1840 | |
| Member of the Maine Senate | |
| In office 1820 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1819-1820 | |
| Member of the Massachusetts Senate | |
| In office 1812-1813 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 19, 1777 Waterbury, Connecticut |
| Died | July 14, 1856 (aged 78) Wiscasset, Maine |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Carleton (m. 1812, died 1817) Eliza Carleton (m. 1820, his death 1856) |
| Children | 5 |
Early life
editErastus Foote was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on September 19, 1777, the son of Obed and Mary Foote and the fifth of six children. He studied with Samuel Hiockley in Northampton, Massachusetts, and was admitted to the bar in 1800. He opened a law firm in Concord, Massachusetts, but moved to Camden, Maine, when it was still part of Massachusetts, later that year to work as a lawyer. In 1811, he was appointed County Attorney of Lincoln County. He remained in Camden during the War of 1812, and was a given the title of Colonel while serving in the Massachusetts militia.
Political career
editIn 1812 he was elected to Massachusetts State Senate as a Jeffersonian Republican.
In 1816 he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives for Massachusetts' 16th district, but lost to Federalist Benjamin Orr.[1]
In 1819 he was elected to the Massachusetts House. After Maine had achieved statehood, he was elected to the first Maine Senate in 1820, but was appointed to the position of Attorney General by Governor William King that same year.[2] He would be appointed twice more and serve in that office until 1831. In 1840 he was elected to the Maine State House of Representatives.[3]
Later life
editHe had five children, one with his first wife Susan Carleton, and four with his second wife Eliza Carleton.
He died on July 14, 1856, at the age of 78 in Wiscasset, Maine.
References
edit- ^ "MA - 3rd Eastern". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "A History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, from Its First Colonization to the Early Part of the Present Century". Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Descendants of Danyell Broadley de West Morton". bradleyfoundation.org. Retrieved 9 April 2024.