Richard Cutts

Richard Cutts (June 28, 1771 – April 7, 1845) was an American merchant and politician who became a prominent public official in the early national period of the United States. A Democratic-Republican, he was most notable for his service as Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1817 to 1829 and as a United States representative from Massachusetts from 1801 to 1813. Over the course of six consecutive terms in Congress, he participated in the legislative process during a formative era in American history, representing the interests of his constituents while the young republic was consolidating its institutions and expanding its political life.

Cutts pursued a career in commerce before entering public life, establishing himself as a merchant at a time when New England’s maritime trade was central to the regional and national economy. His experience in business and finance helped shape his later work in government, particularly in fiscal administration. As a member of the Republican Party representing Massachusetts, he brought this commercial background to bear on legislative questions involving trade, revenue, and national finance, contributing to debates that unfolded against the backdrop of tensions with Great Britain, the Embargo and Non-Intercourse policies, and the approach to the War of 1812.

Elected as a Democratic-Republican to the United States House of Representatives, Cutts served six terms from 1801 to 1813. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, spanning the administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. During these years, Congress grappled with issues such as the Louisiana Purchase, the rechartering of the Bank of the United States, and the nation’s response to European conflicts that affected American shipping and trade. Cutts took part in the democratic process as a representative of Massachusetts, working within the Republican majority that sought to advance Jeffersonian principles of limited central government, agrarian interests, and skepticism of concentrated financial power, while also addressing the concerns of a commercial New England constituency.

After leaving Congress in 1813, Cutts continued his public service in a key executive-branch financial post. In 1817 he was appointed Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury, a position he held until 1829. As Second Comptroller, he was responsible for overseeing and settling accounts and ensuring the proper application of public funds, a role that required both technical financial expertise and a strong understanding of federal law and administrative procedure. His twelve-year tenure spanned the latter part of James Madison’s presidency, the two terms of James Monroe, and the administration of John Quincy Adams, a period often associated with the “Era of Good Feelings” and the gradual emergence of new political alignments. Cutts’s long service in this office reflected the confidence successive administrations placed in his judgment and integrity in managing the nation’s fiscal affairs.

In his personal and family life, Cutts was closely connected to some of the most prominent political figures of his time. He married into the extended family of Dolley Payne Todd Madison, wife of President James Madison, and through this connection his household became intertwined with the social and political world of the early capital. Richard and his wife had several children: James Madison (1805–1863), Thomas (1806–1838), Walter Coles (b. 1808, d. after 1833), Richard (1810–1815), Dorthea (Dolley) Payne Madison (1811–1838), Mary Estelle Elizabeth (1814–1856), and Richard Dominicus (1817–1883). Their daughter Mary was particularly close to Dolley Madison and later wrote two memoirs about her, which became important sources for understanding the life and character of the former First Lady and the social history of Washington, D.C., in the early nineteenth century.

The influence of Richard Cutts extended into subsequent generations of his family, who remained active in public service and national affairs. His grandson James M. Cutts served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his conduct in battle, reflecting a continued family tradition of service to the United States. His granddaughter Adèle Cutts Douglas became the second wife of Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, a leading national Democrat and central figure in the debates over slavery and sectionalism in the 1850s. Through these descendants, the Cutts family remained connected to major events and personalities in American political life well beyond Richard Cutts’s own era.

Richard Cutts died on April 7, 1845. By the time of his death, he had witnessed the transformation of the United States from a fragile new republic to a more firmly established nation with expanding territory and evolving political institutions. His career as a merchant, six-term congressman from Massachusetts, and long-serving Second Comptroller of the Treasury placed him at the center of many of the fiscal and political developments of the early nineteenth century, and his family’s subsequent prominence ensured that his legacy continued to intersect with the broader narrative of American history.