Charles Hudson (Massachusetts)

For other people with the same name, see Charles Hudson (disambiguation).
Charles Hudson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 5th district
In office
May 3, 1841 – March 3, 1849
Preceded by Levi Lincoln Jr.
Succeeded by Charles Allen
Member of the
Lexington, Massachusetts
Board of Selectmen[1]
In office
1868[1] – 1875[1]
Member of the
Massachusetts Governor's Council[2]
In office
1839–1841
Member of the
Massachusetts State Senate[2]
In office
1833–1839
Member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives[2]
In office
1828[2] – 1833[2]
Personal details
Born November 14, 1795
Marlborough, Massachusetts[3]
Died May 4, 1881 (aged 85)
Lexington, Massachusetts
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Ann Rider, m. 1825, Martha B. Rider m. 1830[2]
Profession Minister
Religion Universalist
Military service
Battles/wars War of 1812

Charles Hudson (November 14, 1795 – May 4, 1881) was a United States minister, writer, historian and politician. Hudson served in both houses of the Massachusetts General Court, on the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and as United States Representative from Massachusetts.

Early life

Hudson was born in Marlborough on November 14, 1795. Hudson was the son of Stephen Hudson, who served during the American Revolutionary War, having been captured and confined by the British in Philadelphia.

Education

Hudson attended the common schools and later an academy, taught school, served in the War of 1812 and studied theology. Hudson was ordained as a Universalist minister in 1819 and located in Westminster, where he served as pastor for 20 years.

Public service

Hudson was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he represented the town of Westminster, Massachusetts[1] from 1828 to 1833. From 1833 to 1839 Hudson represented Worcester County[1] in the State Senate.[1] In 1839 he became a member of the Executive Council, and served until 1841. He was a member of the Massachusetts State Board of Education.[1]

Hudson was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Levi Lincoln, Jr. Hudson was reelected to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses and served from May 3, 1841, to March 3, 1849.

Hudson was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1848 to the Thirty-first Congress, and moved to Lexington. Hudson lived in a large house on the town Common ("Battle Green"), about where the driveway of the Hancock Church is today. The house was moved to Belfry Terrace in the early 1900s. Hudson served as a selectman of Lexington from 1868 to 1875,[1] and wrote a comprehensive history of the town, first published 1868. Hudson presided at the centennial celebration of the battle of Lexington in 1875, and delivered an address.

He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1844.[4]

From 1849 to 1853 Hudson served as a naval officer of the port of Boston Custom House,[1] edited the Boston Daily Atlas for many years. Hudson was the assessor of Internal Revenue for the Sixth Collection District,[1] 1864-1868. Hudson was reportedly a close friend of President Abraham Lincoln. Hudson was an author of religious textbooks.

Death and burial

Hudson died in Lexington on May 4, 1881. Interment was in Munroe Cemetery, on Massachusetts Avenue in that town.

Hudson, Massachusetts

The town of Hudson, Massachusetts is named after Charles Hudson. He offered $500 toward the construction of a public library but only if the new town was named after him.

Publications

Hudson prepared congressional reports on the “Protective Policy,” legislative reports on “Capital Punishment,” “The Northeastern Boundary,” and “The Incompetency of Witnesses on Account of Religious Belief,” besides articles for periodicals and newspapers.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hudson, Charles (1913), History of the Town of Lexington Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, Revised and Continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society Vol. II - Genealogies, Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Historical Society, p. 313.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Massachusetts Historical Society (1889), Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol IV - Second Series. 1887-1889, Boston, MA: Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 29.
  3. ↑ Massachusetts Historical Society (1889), Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol IV - Second Series. 1887-1889, Boston, MA: Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 28.
  4. ↑ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory

References

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Levi Lincoln, Jr.		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 5th congressional district
May 3, 1841 – March 3, 1849 		Succeeded by
Charles Allen
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