Part of the Massachusetts Biographies Project
Tristam Burgess
Tristam Burgess (1770-1853) A Representative from Rhode Island; born in Rochester, Mass., February 26, 1770; attended the common schools; studied medicine at a school in Wrentham; upon the death of his father he abandoned the study of medicine; was graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University), Providence, R.I., in 1796; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1799 and commenced practice in Providence, R.I.; member of the State house of representatives in 1811 and was prominent as a member of the Federal Party; appointed chief justice of the supreme court of Rhode Island in May 1815; unsuccessful candidate for election to the same in 1816; professor of oratory in Brown University; elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses and elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first through the Twenty-third Congresses (March 4, 1825-March 3, 1835); chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (Nineteenth Congress), Committee on Military Pensions (Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses), Committee on Revolutionary Claims (Twenty-first Congress), Committee on Invalid Pensions (Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for reelection; unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor in 1836; resumed the practice of law; died on his estate, “Watchemoket Farm” (now a part of East Providence, R.I.), October 13, 1853; interment in North Burial Ground, Providence, R.I. Great-great-uncle of Theodore Francis Green.
Parents: John Burges, Abigail Chase
Spouse: Mary Arnold
Born: 19 Apr 1774 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
Died: 18 Feb 1851 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
Marriage: 22 May 1801 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
Children:
Welcome Arnold Burgess 10 Aug 1801 in Rhode Island
Cornelia Arnold Burgess 1 Oct 1804 in Rhode Island
Abby E Burgess 2 Feb 1806 in Rhode Island
John Chace Burgess 17 Apr 1808 in Rhode Island
Mary Harriet Burgess 25 Dec 1813 in Rhode Island
Tristam Burgess 24 Jul 1817 in Rhode Island
Sources:
Family Data Collections LDS
Vital Records
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
Political Graveyard