John Sherburne Sleeper

John Sherburne Sleeper
6th Mayor of Roxbury, Massachusetts
In office 1856–1858
Preceded by	James Ritchie
Succeeded by	Theodore Otis
Member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 7th Suffolk[1] district
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Personal details
Born	September 25, 1794[2] Tyngsborough, Massachusetts,[3][4]
Died	November 14, 1878 (aged 84)[2]
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Mary Folsom Noble[2]
Children	Mary Rindge Sleeper (1833-1897); Herbert Sleeper (1841–1874);[5] Ariana E. Sleeper (1829–1911);[6] Charles F. Sleeper (1826-1915).[7]
Alma mater	Phillips Exeter Academy[2]
Religion	Congregationalist[2]

John Sherburne Sleeper (1794–1878) was an American sailor, ship master, novelist (who used the pseudonym of Hawser Martingale), journalist and politician.

Life at Sea

Sleeper spent 22 years in the merchant marine service shipping out of the port of Boston as a sailor, officer and shipmaster.^[8]

Journalism career

Sleeper was the publisher and editor of the Exeter, New Hampshire, News-Letter,^[9] editor and proprietor of The Lowell Daily Journal and editor and part proprietor of The Boston Mercantile Journal.^[2] later The Boston Journal

Sleeper purchased The Lowell Daily Journal on May 15, 1833 and ran the paper in partnership with H. Hastings Weld, however the partnership lasted only a few months resulting in financial distress for Mr. Weld and Sleeper's moving on to work for the The Boston Mercantile Journal.^[10] Sleeper was the editor of The Boston Mercantile Journal, later The Boston Journal from 1834 to 1854.^[4]

Public Service Career

Sleeper served as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853,^[2] the Massachusetts Senate, the Massachusetts House of Representatives^[11] and, from 1856 to 1858, as the sixth Mayor^[12] of Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Sleeper was a contestant for the third congressional district of Massachusetts for the election held on November 4, 1862. Although originally ahead in the vote totals, Alexander Rice was later declared the winner by 25 votes (5,045 to 5,020).^[13]

Sleeper was a member of the First Congregational Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts.^[2]

Books

• A Whale Adventure in the Pacific (1841).
• Tales of the Ocean (1842).
• Salt Water Bubbles: Or, Life on the Wave (1854).
• Ocean Adventures: Or, Cabin and Forecastle Yarns of Thrilling Incidents (1857).
• Jack in the Forecastle (1860).
• Mark Rowland; A tale of the Sea (1867).

References

1. Gifford, Stephen Nye (1877), A Manual for the Use of the General Court, Boston, MA: Massachusetts General Court, pp. 336, 342.
2. Thwing, Walter Eliot (1908), History of the First Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1630-1904, Boston, MA: W.A. Butterfield, p. 318.
3. Nason, Elias (1890), A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts: With Numerous Illustrations, Boston, MA: B. B. Russell, p. 647.
4. Drake, Samuel Adams (1880), History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County Vol. II, Boston, MA: Estes and Lauriat, p. 399.
5. Harvard Class of 1861 (1892), Fifth Report of the Harvard Class of 1861 Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Vol. I, New York, NY: Harvard Class of 1861, pp. 112–114.
6. Davis, William Thomas (1895), Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Vol. I, Boston, MA: The Boston History Company, p. 588.
7. Abbatt, William (January–June 1905), The Magazine of history with notes and queries Vol. I, New York, NY: William Abbatt, p. 393. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
8. Allibone, S. Austin (1877), A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors Living and Deceased: From the Earliest Accounts to the Latter Half of the Nineteenth Century Vol. II, Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co., p. 2119.
9. Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association Vol. II, Lowell, MA: Old Residents' Historical Association, 1883, pp. 240–242.
10. Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association Vol. II, Lowell, MA: Old Residents' Historical Association, 1883, p. 241.
11. Waters, Henry Fritz-Gilbert (1879), The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for the year 1879 Vol. XXXIII, Boston, MA: The New England Historical and Genealogical Society, p. 150.
12. Winsor, Justin (1881), The Memorial History of Boston: Including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880 Vol. III, Boston, MA: Ticknor and Company, p. 578.
13. Bartlett, David W. (1865), Cases of Contested Elections in Congress, from 1834 to 1865, Inclusive, Washington, DC: United States Congress. House. Committee on Elections, p. 475.

Bibliography

• A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts: With Numerous Illustrations by Elias Nason, George Jones Varney (1890).
• A Manual for the Use of the General Court By Massachusetts General Court Stephen Nye Gifford (1877).
• Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by William Thomas Davis (1895).
• Cases of Contested Elections in Congress, from 1834 to 1865, Inclusive by David W. Bartlett (1865).
• Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association, Lowell, Mass by the Old Residents' Historical Association (1883).
• History of the First Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1630-1904 By Walter Eliot Thwing (1908).
• History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County by Samuel Adams Drake (1880.)
• The Memorial History of Boston: Including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880. by Justin Winsor (1881).
• The New England Historical and Genealogical Register by Henry Fritz-Gilbert Waters (1879).

External links

• Works by John Sherburne Sleeper at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about John Sherburne Sleeper at Internet Archive