Stevenson Archer (1786-1848)
MSA SC 3520-1946
Biography:
Born October 11, 1786, at "Medical Hall," near Churchville, Harford County. Son of John Archer (1741-1810) and Catherine (Harris) Archer. Attended Nottingham Academy, Cecil County; graduated, Princeton College, 1805; studied law with John Montgomery, Bel Air, and later with Chancellor Johnson, Annapolis. Admitted to the Harford County Bar, 1808. Married Pamela Barney Hays, 1811; Children: James; Elizabeth A.; Hannah C.; Laura S.; John G.; Pamela H.; Harriet H.; Stevenson Archer (1828-1898); and a son who died young. Presbyterian. Died June 26, 1848, at "Medical Hall;" buried in Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Churchville.
Engaged in the private practice of law after 1808. Served as paymaster, 40th Maryland Militia, appointed April 22, 1808. Member of House of Delegates, Harford County, 1809-10; 1854. Paymaster to the Fortieth Maryland Militia during the War of 1812. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, 6th District, 1811-1817, and 1819-1821; Chair, Committee on Claims (Thirteenth Congress), Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Fourteenth Congress), Chair, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Sixteenth Congress). Appointed on March 5, 1817, by President Madison as U.S. judge for the Territory of Mississippi, with powers of Governor, holding court at St. Stephens; resigned within a year and returned to Maryland. Chief Judge, Baltimore and Harford County Circuit Courts after 1823. Associate Judge, Maryland Court of Appeals, 1823-44; Chief Judge, 1844-48.
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