Representative David Bronson

David Bronson (February 8, 1800 – November 20, 1863) was a United States Representative from Maine and a prominent lawyer and state legislator in the mid-nineteenth century. He was born in Suffield, Hartford County, Connecticut, where he spent his early years before pursuing higher education in New England. His New England upbringing and subsequent professional life in Maine placed him within the political and legal circles that shaped the region during the antebellum period.

Bronson attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and was graduated in 1819. Following his graduation, he undertook the study of law, a common path for aspiring public figures of his generation. He completed his legal training and was admitted to the bar in 1823. Soon thereafter, he moved to the District of Maine, then a relatively young state, and commenced the practice of law in North Anson, Somerset County. His legal practice in North Anson established his reputation in the community and provided the foundation for his entry into public life.

Bronson’s political career began in state government. He was elected a member of the Maine House of Representatives, where he participated in the legislative affairs of the young state. His service in the state legislature helped to elevate his profile within the Whig Party and prepared him for national office. During this period, he continued to balance his responsibilities as a practicing attorney with his growing involvement in public affairs.

Bronson was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative George Evans. He represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from May 31, 1841, to March 3, 1843. His tenure in Congress coincided with a turbulent period in national politics marked by debates over economic policy, including banking and tariffs, and the evolving sectional tensions that would later culminate in the Civil War. After the completion of his term, he did not return to Congress but remained active in public life in Maine.

Following his service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Bronson moved to Augusta, the capital of Maine, where he resumed the practice of law. His relocation to Augusta placed him at the center of state political activity. In 1846 he was elected a member of the Maine State Senate, further extending his legislative experience. As a state senator, he participated in shaping state policy during a period of economic development and political realignment in Maine and the broader New England region.

Later in his career, Bronson moved to Bath, a growing maritime and commercial center on the Kennebec River. There he held important federal and local offices. He served as collector of customs at Bath, a position of considerable responsibility in an era when customs duties were a principal source of federal revenue and Bath’s shipbuilding and maritime trade made it a significant port. In addition to his federal appointment, he served as judge of probate for Sagadahoc County, overseeing the administration of estates and related legal matters, which reflected the continued trust placed in his legal judgment and integrity.

Bronson remained aligned with the Whig tradition as national politics shifted in the 1850s. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1856 to the Thirty-fifth Congress, an election held amid the dissolution of the Whig Party and the rise of new political alignments over the issue of slavery. Although he did not return to national office, he continued to be identified with public service through his legal and judicial roles in Maine.

In his later years, Bronson left Maine and spent time in Maryland. He died in St. Michaels, Talbot County, Maryland, on November 20, 1863. His career, spanning law practice, state legislative service, a term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and important local and federal offices in Maine, reflected the path of a nineteenth-century New England lawyer-politician whose public life was closely tied to the development of Maine and the shifting political landscape of the United States in the decades before and during the Civil War era.