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Levi Lincoln Sr.

Levi Lincoln Sr. (15 May 1749 – 14 April 1820) was a member of the US House of Representatives (DR-MA 4) from 15 December 1800 to 5 March 1801 (succeeding Dwight Foster and preceding Seth Hastings), US Secretary of State from 5 March to 1 May 1801 (succeeding John Marshall and preceding James Madison), Attorney General from 5 March 1801 to 3 March 1805 (succeeding Charles Lee and preceding John Breckinridge), and Governor of Massachusetts from 10 December 1808 to 1 May 1809 (succeeding James Sullivan and preceding Christopher Gore).

Biography[]

Levi Lincoln Sr. was born in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1749, and he was educated at Harvard before setting up a law practice in Worcester. He took part in the drafting of the 1779 state constitution and supported Quock Walker's emancipation in 1783, and he went on to serve in the US House of Representatives from 1800 to 1801, when he was immediately tapped by President Thomas Jefferson to serve as Attorney General. He served as Jefferson's consultant on New England politics and was influential in the distribution of patronage in the region, as well as advising Jefferson about the Louisiana Purchase. He later returned home and established Democratic-Republican dominance in Worcester despite the state's strong Federalist leanings. He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1807 to 1809 and retired in 1811 due to ill health, dying in 1820.

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