David Kidder

David Kidder (December 8, 1787 – November 1, 1860) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from Maine during the early years of the state’s admission to the Union. He was born on December 8, 1787, in Pownalborough, Massachusetts, a jurisdiction that later became part of the state of Maine and is now known as Dresden, Maine. Little is recorded about his family background, but his early life unfolded in the District of Maine at a time when it was still governed as part of Massachusetts, an experience that would later inform his public career in the newly independent state.

Kidder pursued classical studies under private tutors, reflecting the customary path of legal and professional preparation in New England in the early nineteenth century. He subsequently studied law, undertaking the traditional apprenticeship-style legal education of the period rather than formal law school training, which was not yet widespread. After completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Bloomfield, in what was then Somerset County, Maine. His early legal practice established him as a figure of some prominence in the local bar and provided the foundation for his later public service.

By 1811, Kidder had advanced sufficiently in his profession to be appointed prosecuting attorney of Somerset County. He held this position from 1811 to 1823, a twelve-year tenure that spanned the War of 1812 and the political realignments that followed. During this period he relocated several times within the county, moves that reflected both the shifting centers of population and commerce and his own professional opportunities. He moved from Bloomfield to Skowhegan in 1817, and then to Norridgewock in 1821, continuing his legal practice while carrying out his responsibilities as prosecuting attorney. His long service in that office enhanced his reputation as a capable lawyer and public official.

Kidder entered national politics in the 1820s, a time of transition from the first party system to the era of John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. He was elected as an Adams-Clay Democratic-Republican to the Eighteenth Congress and then re-elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth Congress, reflecting his alignment with the nationalist and pro-internal improvements wing of the former Democratic-Republican Party. He represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1827, during the administrations of Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. Serving in the early years after Maine’s separation from Massachusetts in 1820, he was among the state’s early congressional delegation as it established its place in federal affairs. Kidder chose not to be a candidate for renomination in 1826, thereby concluding his congressional service at the end of his second term.

After leaving Congress, Kidder returned to private life and the practice of law. In 1827 he moved back to Skowhegan, where he resumed his legal career and reestablished himself in local civic affairs. His experience in both county and national office made him a respected figure in Maine’s legal and political circles, and he continued to be involved in public matters even after his departure from the national stage.

Kidder’s principal later political role was at the state level. In 1829 he served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives, participating in the legislative work of the relatively young state less than a decade after its admission to the Union. His service in the state legislature capped a public career that had included county prosecution, two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and continued engagement in legal practice.

David Kidder spent the remainder of his life in Skowhegan, Maine, where he continued to reside until his death. He died in Skowhegan on November 1, 1860. He was interred in Bloomfield Cemetery, returning in death to the community where he had first established his legal practice and begun the public career that would carry him to both state and national office.