author
Tappan Wentworth
1802–1875
A 19th-century lawyer and congressman from Massachusetts, he moved between public service and civic life in a fast-growing New England city. His career linked local government, state politics, and a single term in the U.S. House during a tense period before the Civil War.
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About the author
Born in Dover, New Hampshire, on February 24, 1802, Tappan Wentworth studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826, and began practicing in York County, Maine. In 1833 he moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he continued his legal career and became active in local affairs.
Wentworth served on Lowell's common council from 1836 to 1841, later sat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and was a member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1853. As a Whig, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served one term, from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855.
He died in Lowell on June 12, 1875. In addition to his legal and political work, he was remembered for leaving a substantial bequest to Dartmouth College, a sign of the public-minded legacy he left behind.