Samuel Livermore

This article is about the U.S. Senator. For the New Orleans lawyer, see Samuel Livermore (legal writer).

Samuel Livermore
portrait by John Trumbull
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office December 2, 1799 – December 29, 1799
Preceded by	James Ross
Succeeded by	Uriah Tracy
In office May 6, 1796 – December 4, 1796
Preceded by	Henry Tazewell
Succeeded by	William Bingham
United States Senator from New Hampshire
In office March 4, 1793 – June 12, 1801
Preceded by	Paine Wingate
Succeeded by	Simeon Olcott
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 3rd at-large district
In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	John Samuel Sherburne
Personal details
Born	(1732-05-14)May 14, 1732 Waltham, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
Died	May 18, 1803(1803-05-18) (aged 71) Holderness, New Hampshire, U.S.
Political party	Pro-Administration Federalist
Alma mater	College of New Jersey (renamed Princeton)
Profession	Law

Samuel Livermore (May 14, 1732 – May 18, 1803) was an American politician, who served as the U.S. Senator from New Hampshire from 1793 to 1801 and served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1796 and again in 1799.

Life and career

Livermore was born in Waltham in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Hannah (Brown) and Samuel Livermore, and attended Waltham schools. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1752, then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1756, and commenced practice in Waltham. He moved to Portsmouth, in 1758 and later to Londonderry. He was a member of the New Hampshire General Court (the state's general assembly) 1768–1769. He was judge-advocate in the Admiralty court and Attorney General from 1769 to 1774. He moved to Holderness in 1775 and was State attorney for three years.

Livermore was a Member of the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782 and again from 1785 to 1786. He was chief justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature from 1782 to 1789, and a member of the State constitutional convention in 1788. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the First and Second Congresses, serving from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1793, and served as the chairman of the House Committee on Elections in the Second Congress. Livermore was one of seven representatives to vote against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.

Livermore was president of the State constitutional convention in 1791 and in 1792 was elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate and was reelected in 1798 and served from March 4, 1793, until his resignation effective June 12, 1801, due to ill health. He served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Fourth and Sixth Congresses. The defunct town of Livermore, New Hampshire was named after him.

Livermore died in Holderness, New Hampshire, and is interred in Trinity Churchyard there. He is featured on a New Hampshire historical marker (number 39) along New Hampshire Route 175 in Holderness.

Livermore was the father of Arthur Livermore, a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire, and Edward St. Loe Livermore, a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.

External links

• United States Congress. "Samuel Livermore (id: L000364)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Samuel Livermore at Find a Grave