James Carr (Massachusetts politician)
Encyclopedia
James Carr son of U.S. Congressman Francis Carr, was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from Maine
, then a District of Massachusetts
.
Carr was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts
on September 9, 1777. He attended Phillips Exeter
and Byfield Academies, and then went to sea as clerk on the U.S.S. Crescent. He served two years as secretary to the United States Consul at Algiers
. He then joined his parents (who had migrated to Bangor, Maine
), engaging in mercantile pursuits and serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
(1806–1811) for the District of Maine.
Carr was elected as a Federalist to the Fourteenth United States Congress (1815–1817), the second person from Bangor to occupy that office (following his father).
Carr was drowned in the Ohio River
on August 24, 1818. While traveling with his family on a steamboat, his 9-year-old daughter Mary fell overboard just below Louisville, Kentucky
, and Carr entered the water in a failed attempt to save her. Neither of their bodies were ever recovered, though a memorial to Carr was erected at Bangor's Mount Hope Cemetery
.
Carr was married to Betsey Stelle Jarvis, who migrated to Illinois
along with two brothers following the tragedy on the river. The Carrs remained a prominent mercantile and political family in Bangor despite James' death (see Francis Carr)
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, then a District of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Carr was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
on September 9, 1777. He attended Phillips Exeter
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
and Byfield Academies, and then went to sea as clerk on the U.S.S. Crescent. He served two years as secretary to the United States Consul at Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. He then joined his parents (who had migrated to Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
), engaging in mercantile pursuits and serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
(1806–1811) for the District of Maine.
Carr was elected as a Federalist to the Fourteenth United States Congress (1815–1817), the second person from Bangor to occupy that office (following his father).
Carr was drowned in the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
on August 24, 1818. While traveling with his family on a steamboat, his 9-year-old daughter Mary fell overboard just below Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and Carr entered the water in a failed attempt to save her. Neither of their bodies were ever recovered, though a memorial to Carr was erected at Bangor's Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor
Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States. It was designed by architect Charles G. Bryant in 1834, the same year that Bangor was incorporated as a city, and likely modeled after Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts...
.
Carr was married to Betsey Stelle Jarvis, who migrated to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
along with two brothers following the tragedy on the river. The Carrs remained a prominent mercantile and political family in Bangor despite James' death (see Francis Carr)