Edward St. Loe Livermore

Edward St. Loe Livermore (April 5, 1762 – September 15, 1832), son of Samuel Livermore and brother of Arthur Livermore, was a United States Representative from Massachusetts and a prominent lawyer and jurist in New England. He was born in Portsmouth in the Province of New Hampshire on April 5, 1762, into a family already distinguished in public life; his father, Samuel Livermore, served as a member of the Continental Congress, a United States Senator, and Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature, while his brother Arthur later became a United States Representative from New Hampshire. Growing up in this politically engaged and legally accomplished household, Edward St. Loe Livermore was positioned early for a career in law and public service.

Livermore pursued classical studies in his youth, reflecting the educational standards of the late colonial and early national period, and subsequently studied law. After completing his legal training, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Concord, New Hampshire. He later returned to his native Portsmouth, where he continued the practice of law. His early legal work in these New Hampshire communities helped establish his reputation and led to a series of increasingly responsible public offices within the state.

In New Hampshire, Livermore first held the office of State Solicitor for Rockingham County from 1791 to 1793, a position in which he was responsible for prosecuting criminal cases on behalf of the state. He was then appointed United States district attorney, serving from 1794 to 1797, during the formative years of the federal judicial system under the Constitution. Following this federal appointment, he was named an associate justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court of Judicature, serving from 1797 to 1799 on what was then the state’s highest court. From 1799 to 1802, he held the federal customs post of naval officer for the port of Portsmouth, overseeing aspects of maritime trade and customs administration at one of New England’s important seaports.

In 1802, Livermore moved from New Hampshire to Newburyport, Massachusetts, a significant commercial and maritime center. Aligning himself with the Federalist Party, he was elected as a Federalist to the Tenth and Eleventh Congresses, serving as a United States Representative from Massachusetts from March 4, 1807, to March 3, 1811. His service in Congress occurred during a period marked by rising tensions with Great Britain and France, the Embargo Act, and the political contests between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans over foreign policy and federal authority. Although specific details of his committee assignments and legislative initiatives are not extensively recorded, his election and re-election reflected the support he enjoyed among Federalist constituents in Massachusetts. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1810, thereby concluding his congressional career after two terms.

After leaving Congress, Livermore resumed the practice of law. In 1811 he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, which by then had become a leading legal and commercial center in New England. Seeking new opportunities, he later relocated to Zanesville, Ohio, at a time when the Ohio country was part of the expanding American frontier and attracting professionals, merchants, and settlers from the eastern states. He eventually returned to Boston and subsequently moved to Tewksbury, Massachusetts, where he lived in retirement. During this later phase of his life, he continued to be associated with the intellectual and civic life of the region.

Livermore’s standing in the learned community was recognized when he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815, an organization devoted to the preservation and study of American history, literature, and culture. His election to this society reflected both his prominence and his engagement with the intellectual currents of the early nineteenth century. He also contributed to public life through his family: he was the father of Samuel Livermore, a noted authority on civil law, and of Harriet Livermore (1788–1868), who became a prominent Millerite preacher and religious figure during the Second Great Awakening, known for her millenarian beliefs and public preaching.

Edward St. Loe Livermore spent his final years in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, where he lived in retirement until his death on September 15, 1832. Although he died in Tewksbury, his remains were interred in the Granary Burying Ground in Boston, one of the city’s most historic cemeteries and the resting place of many notable figures of the colonial and early national periods. His career, spanning state and federal judicial service, a federal prosecutorial post, customs administration, and two terms in the United States House of Representatives, placed him within the first generation of American public officials who helped shape the institutions of the new republic.