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Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Debt
Imprisoned for Debt

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in chronological order

  William Duer (1747-1799) — also known as "Philo-Publius" — of New York County, N.Y. Born in Devon, England, March 18, 1747. Planter; timber and lumber merchant; delegate to New York state constitutional convention, 1776; member of New York state senate Eastern District, 1777; Delegate to Continental Congress from New York, 1777; member of New York state assembly from New York County, 1785-86; went bankrupt as a result of the Panic of 1792, and was imprisoned for debt. Died, in debtor's prison, New York, New York County, N.Y., April 18, 1799 (age 52 years, 31 days). Originally entombed at Old St. Thomas Church, Manhattan, N.Y.; reinterment at Trinity Cemetery, Manhattan, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of John Duer and Frances (Frye) Duer; married 1779 to Catherine Alexander; father of William Alexander Duer and John Duer (1782-1858); nephew by marriage of Robert Livingston, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Philip Livingston and William Livingston; grandfather of William Duer (1805-1879) and Denning Duer; first cousin by marriage of Peter Robert Livingston, Walter Livingston, Philip Peter Livingston and Henry Brockholst Livingston.
  Political families: Livingston-Schuyler family of New York; Roosevelt family of New York (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Robert Morris (1734-1806) — of Pennsylvania. Born in Liverpool, England, January 31, 1734. Delegate to Continental Congress from Pennsylvania, 1776; signer, Declaration of Independence, 1776; member of Pennsylvania state house of representatives, 1785; member, U.S. Constitutional Convention, 1787; U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-95. Episcopalian. English ancestry. Financier of the American Revolution, but went broke in the process. Imprisoned for debt from February 1798 to August 1801. Slaveowner. Died in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pa., May 8, 1806 (age 72 years, 97 days). Entombed at Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pa.; statue at Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Pa.; memorial monument at Constitution Gardens, Washington, D.C.
  Relatives: Son of Robert Morris (1711-1750) and Elizabeth (Murphet) Morris; married, March 2, 1769, to Mary White; father of Thomas Morris and Henrietta 'Hetty' Morris (who married James Markham Marshall); great-grandfather of John Augustine Marshall.
  Political families: Harrison-Randolph-Marshall-Cabell family of Virginia; Lee-Randolph family; Biddle-Randolph family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  Morris Hall (dormitory, built 1926), at Harvard University Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, is named for him.
  Coins and currency: His portrait appeared on the U.S. $10 silver certificate in the 1870s and 1880s.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Books about Robert Morris: Charles Rappleye, Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution
  Nathaniel Peabody (1741-1823) — of Atkinson, Rockingham County, N.H. Born in Topsfield, Essex County, Mass., March 1, 1741. Served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; member of New Hampshire state house of representatives, 1776-79, 1781-85, 1787-90, 1793-96; Delegate to Continental Congress from New Hampshire, 1779-80, 1785; delegate to New Hampshire state constitutional convention, 1782-83; member of New Hampshire Governor's Council, 1784-86; member of New Hampshire state senate from Rockingham County, 1785-86, 1790-93. Confined in a debtor's prison for about twenty years. Died, from consumption (tuberculosis), in Exeter, Rockingham County, N.H., June 7, 1823 (age 82 years, 98 days). Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery, East Kingston, N.H.
  Relatives: Son of Susanna (Rogers) Peabody and Jacob Peabody; married 1763 to Abigail Little.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Swan (1754-1830) — of Boston, Suffolk County, Mass.; Paris, France. Born in Fife, Scotland, 1754. Served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; twice wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill; member of Massachusetts state house of representatives, 1777-78; imprisoned for debt in Paris, from 1808 to about 1830. Died in Paris, France, July 31, 1830 (age about 76 years). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married 1776 to Hepzibah Clarke.
  The World War II Liberty ship SS James Swan (built 1944 at Savannah, Georgia; sank 1952 in the Pacific Ocean) was named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Richard Cutts (1771-1845) — of Pepperell, Middlesex County, Mass. Born in Saco, York County, Maine, June 28, 1771. Democrat. Member of Massachusetts state legislature, 1790; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1801-13 (at-large 1801-05, 14th District 1805-13); imprisoned for debt, 1828. Died in Washington, D.C., April 7, 1845 (age 73 years, 283 days). Original interment at St. John's Church Cemetery, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.; reinterment in 1857 at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  Relatives: Married, March 31, 1804, to Anna Payne (sister-in-law of James Madison and John George Jackson).
  Political families: Jackson-Lee family; Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York; Pendleton-Lee family of Maryland (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Israel DeWolf Andrews (c.1813-1871) — also known as Israel D. Andrews — of Maine. Born in New Brunswick, about 1813. Naturalized U.S. citizen; imprisoned for debt more than once; U.S. Consul in Saint John, 1843-48; U.S. Special Diplomatic Agent to Canada, 1849-54; U.S. Consul General in Toronto, 1855-57; successfully advocated for reciprocal trade agreements. Died, reportedly due to alcoholism, in Boston, Suffolk County, Mass., February 17, 1871 (age about 58 years). Interment at Hillside Cemetery, Eastport, Maine.
  Relatives: Son of Israel Andrews and Elizabeth (Scott) Andrews.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Albert Hiram Lennox (1842-1907) — also known as Albert H. Lennox; Albert Hiram Lenox — of Camden, Camden County, N.J. Born in Trenton, Mercer County, N.J., December 22, 1842. Shipbroker; commission merchant; Vice-Consul for Haiti in Philadelphia, Pa., 1877-83; Consul for Greece in Philadelphia, Pa., 1881-91; Consul for Haiti in Philadelphia, Pa., 1883-91; in 1891, he and other officers of some mutual benefit associations were charged in Philadelphia with obtaining money under false pretenses; in 1894, he resisted eviction for non-payment of rent; he was no longer consul, but falsely claimd diplomatic immunity; the government of Haiti contradicted his claim, and a scandal resulted. Died in Camden, Camden County, N.J., July 4, 1907 (age 64 years, 194 days). Interment at Colestown Cemetery, Cherry Hill Township, Camden County, N.J.
  Relatives: Son of Elizabeth Jane Lenox and Hiram Lenox; married to Emma Stoy.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
J. Edward Addicks John Edward Charles O'Sullivan Addicks (1841-1919) — also known as J. Edward Addicks; "Gas Addicks"; "Napoleon of Gas"; "Frenzied Financier" — of Claymont, New Castle County, Del. Born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pa., November 21, 1841. Republican. Flour merchant; built and controlled the illuminating gas industry in Boston and other cities; tried for years without success to win a seat in the U.S. Senate; member of Republican National Committee from Delaware, 1904; delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1904; arrested in New York, 1913, over his refusal to acknowledge money judgements against him by creditors, and released on bond; jailed in 1915 for contempt of court. Died in Manhattan, New York County, N.Y., August 7, 1919 (age 77 years, 259 days). Interment at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pa.
  Relatives: Son of John E. C. O'Sullivan Addicks and Margaretta McLeod (Turner) Addicks; married 1864 to Laura Wattson Butcher; married to Rosalie Butcher; married, December 14, 1898, to Ida (Carr) Wilson.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: Library of Congress
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