Representative Aaron Hobart

Aaron Hobart (June 26, 1787 – September 19, 1858) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a long-serving public official in the Commonwealth’s legislative, executive, and judicial branches. He was born in Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, where he spent his early years and pursued classical studies in preparation for higher education. Demonstrating academic promise, he entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated in 1805, at a time when the college was a leading institution for training New England’s professional and political class.

Following his graduation from Brown, Hobart studied law, undertaking the traditional legal apprenticeship of the period. After completing his legal training, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in his native Abington. His legal career provided the foundation for his entry into public life, as he became involved in local affairs and gained recognition within the community. This combination of legal expertise and local engagement helped position him for election to state office in Massachusetts.

Hobart’s early political career unfolded in the Massachusetts General Court, where he served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He later advanced to the Massachusetts State Senate, reflecting growing confidence in his abilities among his constituents and colleagues. In these roles he participated in the governance of Massachusetts during a period of significant political realignment in the early nineteenth century, as the old Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties were giving way to new coalitions.

Hobart entered national politics when he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Sixteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Zabdiel Sampson. He took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 24, 1820. He was reelected as a Democratic-Republican to the Seventeenth Congress, elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth Congress, and reelected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth Congress, serving continuously from November 24, 1820, to March 3, 1827. His shifting party designations reflected the evolving national party system in the Era of Good Feelings and the emergence of the Adams and Clay faction that supported a strong national government and internal improvements.

After three full terms in Congress, Hobart declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1826, choosing to conclude his service in the U.S. House at the end of the Nineteenth Congress. Returning to state service, he became a member of the Massachusetts Executive Council, serving from 1827 to 1831. In this capacity he advised the governor and participated in the administration of state affairs, further extending his influence in Massachusetts politics. His experience in both the legislative and executive branches underscored his versatility as a public servant.

In the later phase of his career, Hobart moved into the judiciary. He was appointed probate judge in 1843 and served in that office until 1858. As a probate judge, he oversaw matters relating to wills, estates, and guardianships, applying his legal training and long public experience to the resolution of family and property disputes. His tenure of fifteen years on the probate bench testified to the confidence placed in his judgment and integrity. During this period he also remained engaged in civic affairs and, reflecting the fluid nature of mid-nineteenth-century party alignments, he ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Party nominee in the third vote of the 1853–54 Boston mayoral election.

Aaron Hobart died in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on September 19, 1858. He was interred in Central Cemetery, leaving behind a record of nearly half a century of service in Massachusetts and national public life, spanning roles as legislator, councilor, judge, and candidate for municipal office.