Manasseh CUTLER, Congress, MA (1742-1823)
CUTLER, Manasseh, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Killingly, Conn., May 13, 1742; was prepared for college by private teacher and was graduated from Yale College in 1765; taught school in Dedham, Mass., for a short time; engaged in the whaling business at Edgartown, Marthaâs Vineyard, Mass.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1767 but did not practice; studied theology, and was licensed to preach in 1770; ordained to the ministry by the Congregational Society at Hamilton, Mass., September 11, 1771; appointed chaplain of Colonel Francisâ regiment September 5, 1776, and of General Titcombâs brigade in 1778; began the study of medicine the same year and became a skilled physician; taught navigation; held in esteem for his knowledge of botany and astronomy; one of the projectors of the Ohio Company in 1787, formed for the purpose of colonizing the new Territory; drafted the Ordinance of 1787; appointed judge of the United States Court for Ohio in 1795 by President Washington, but declined; member of the State house of representatives in 1800; elected as a Federalist to the Seventh and Eighth Congresses (March 4, 1801-March 3, 1805); was not a candidate for renomination in 1804; engaged in literary pursuits; died in Hamilton, Mass., July 28, 1823; interment in Main Street Cemetery.
Bibliography
Cutler, W.P., and J.P. Cutler. Life Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler. 2 vols. Cincinnati: R. Clarke & Co., 1888; Potts, Louis W. âManasseh Cutler, Lobbyist.â Ohio History 96 (Summer/Autumn 1987): 101-23.Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
