Seth Hastings

Seth Hastings
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts
In office
August 24, 1801 – March 3, 1807
Preceded byLevi Lincoln Sr.
Succeeded byJabez Upham
Constituency4th district (1801–03)
10th district (1803–07)
Personal details
Born(1762-04-07)April 7, 1762
Cambridge, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
DiedNovember 19, 1831(1831-11-19) (aged 69)
Mendon, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyFederalist
Alma materHarvard University
OccupationLawyer

Seth Hastings (April 8, 1762 – November 19, 1831) was a United States representative from Massachusetts. Born in Cambridge in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to Seth and Hannah (Soden) Hastings, he was a descendant of the colonist Thomas Hastings who came from the East Anglia region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634. He graduated from Harvard University in 1782, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1786 and commenced practice in Mendon, Massachusetts. He was town treasurer in 1794 and 1795, and was elected one of the first school commissioners in 1796.

Hastings was elected as a Federalist to the Seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Levi Lincoln. He was reelected to the Eighth and Ninth Congresses and served from August 24, 1801, to March 3, 1807. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1806 and was a member of the Massachusetts State Senate in 1810 and 1814. From 1819 to 1828, he was chief justice of the court of sessions for Worcester County. Hastings died in Mendon; interment was in the Old Cemetery.

Legacy

Hastings' son, William Soden Hastings, also represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives.

References

  • United States Congress. "Seth Hastings (id: H000331)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • Buckminster, Lydia N. H., The Hastings Memorial, A Genealogical Account of the Descendants of Thomas Hastings of Watertown, Mass. from 1634 to 1864, Boston: Samuel G. Drake Publisher (an undated NEHGS photoduplicate of the 1866 edition).
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
August 24, 1801 – March 3, 1803 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1807 		Succeeded by