Joshua Seney

Joshua Seney (March 4, 1756 – October 20, 1798) was an American farmer and lawyer from Queen Anne's County, Maryland. He represented the state of Maryland in the Continental Congress, and the second district of Maryland in the House of Representatives.

Joshua Seney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 2nd district
In office
1789–1792
Preceded byInaugural holder
Succeeded byWilliam Hindman
Personal details
Born(1756-03-04)March 4, 1756
Church Hill, Maryland
DiedOctober 20, 1798(1798-10-20) (aged 42)
Political partyAnti-Administration
Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)Frances Nicholson
RelationsWilliam Few (brother-in-law)
Albert Gallatin (brother-in-law)
John Montgomery (brother-in-law)
ParentsJohn Seney
Ruth Benton Seney
Alma materCollege of Philadelphia

Early life

Joshua was born to John Seney (1730–1795) and Ruth (née Benton) Seney in 1756 on the family farm near Church Hill, Maryland. His grandfather, Solomon, was a French Huguenot refugee who arrived in Maryland around 1727. By the time Joshua was born the family were prosperous farmers and planters. He was educated in local schools and then attended the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania), graduating in 1773.[1][2]

Career

After Seney was admitted to the bar, he confined himself to a private practice. In 1779, he served as the High Sheriff of Queen Anne's County, Maryland.[1]

Continental Congress

During the early days of the Revolutionary War Seney busied himself with the care of the family's farms since his father was active as a Lt. Colonel in the militia. He was appointed the sheriff of Queen Anne's County in 1779. He was elected to the Maryland state House of Delegates, and served there from 1785 to 1787. In 1788, Seney was sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress.[1]

United States Congress

After returning to his farm, Seney was again called to political service when he was elected to the First United States Congress in 1789.[3] He was re-elected for the 1791–1793 term as an Anti-Administration candidate but resigned from Congress on December 6, 1792 to take up his new duties as a judge of the state court for the district of Baltimore. He served as Chief Justice of the Third Judicial District of Maryland from 1792 to 1796.[1]

In 1798, Seney ran for Congress again as a Republican. He defeated the incumbent Federalist, William Hindman but died before taking office.[1]

Personal life

Seney was married to Frances "Fanny" Nicholson (1771–1851) of the prominent Nicholson family of Maryland.[4] Fanny was the daughter of Commodore James Nicholson and was the sister of Catherine "Kitty" Nicholson (wife of William Few),[5] Hannah Nicholson (wife of Albert Gallatin),[6] James Witter Nicholson (husbanbd of Ann Griffin, daughter of Isaac Griffin),[7] Maria Nicholson (wife of John Montgomery),[8][9] and Jehoiadden Nicholson (wife of James Chrystie).[10][11] Together, Joshua and Fanny were the parents of:[12]

  • Joshua Seney Jr. (1793–1854), who married Ann Ebert (1803–1879), the parents of Judge Henry William Seney.[4]

Seney died at home on October 20, 1798 and was buried in a family plot on his farm near Church Hill in Queen Anne's County. His grave can now be found in the churchyard of St. Luke's Church.[1]

References
  1. "SENEY, Joshua - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  2. "Representative Joshua Seney". www2.gwu.edu. First Federal Congress Project. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. Society, United States Capitol Historical (2000). Neither Separate Nor Equal: Congress in the 1790s. Ohio University Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780821413272. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1921). Lineage Book. The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 73. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  5. Johnson, Dale T. (1990). American Portrait Miniatures in the Manney Collection. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 183. ISBN 9780870995972. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. Dungan, Nicholas (2010). Gallatin: America's Swiss Founding Father. NYU Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 9780814721117. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  7. "James Witter Nicholson letters, 1792-1834". www.columbia.edu. Columbia University. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  8. McKenney, Janice E. (2012). Women of the Constitution: Wives of the Signers. Scarecrow Press. pp. 59-60. ISBN 9780810884991. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  9. Brown, Charles Brockden (2013). Collected Writings of Charles Brockden Brown: Letters and early epistolary writings. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 598. ISBN 9781611484441. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  10. Roosevelt, Hall; McCoy, Samuel Duff (1939). Odyssey of an American family: an account of the Roosevelt and their kin as travelers, from 1613 to 1938. Harper & brothers. p. 216. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  11. Library, Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript (1992). A guide to the manuscript collections in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. G.K. Hall. pp. 180, 309. ISBN 9780816105168. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  12. Scribner, Harvey (1910). Memoirs of Lucas County and the City of Toledo: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families. Western Historical Association. p. 246. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
(none)		 U.S. Congressman, Maryland's 2nd District
1789—1792		 Succeeded by
William Hindman
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