Representative Levi Hubbard

Levi Hubbard (December 19, 1762 – February 18, 1836) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a prominent militia officer and public official in the District of Maine during the early national period. He was born in Worcester, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Jonas Hubbard and Mary (Stevens) Hubbard. Of New England colonial ancestry, he was a descendant of Edmund Rice, an early immigrant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, through the following line: Levi Hubbard, son of Jonas Hubbard (May 21, 1739 – ?), son of Cornet Daniel Hubbard (November 20, 1694 – April 28, 1784), son of Hannah Rice (1658 – April 9, 1747), daughter of Samuel Rice (November 12, 1634 – February 25, 1684), son of Edmund Rice (1594 – May 3, 1663). Hubbard attended the common schools in his youth, receiving the basic education typical of rural Massachusetts in the late colonial and Revolutionary eras.

In 1785, Hubbard moved from Worcester to Paris in the District of Maine, then still a part of Massachusetts. There he established himself as a farmer, a vocation he would pursue throughout his life alongside his public service. As the frontier community of Paris developed, Hubbard became active in local affairs and quickly assumed positions of responsibility. He served in various town offices, including as a selectman, and also held county-level responsibilities as treasurer of Oxford County, reflecting the trust placed in him by his neighbors in the growing settlement.

Hubbard’s public career extended beyond local government into military service. He became prominent in the Massachusetts militia and rose through the ranks to attain the grade of major general. As commander of the 13th Division of the Massachusetts militia, he played a role in the state’s military organization during a period of ongoing tension and conflict with Great Britain. During the War of 1812 he served in this capacity, contributing to the defense and readiness of the District of Maine, which was strategically important due to its long coastline and proximity to British Canada.

In addition to his military responsibilities, Hubbard pursued an active legislative career in the government of Massachusetts. He served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1804, 1805, and again in 1812, participating in the governance of the Commonwealth at a time when questions of federal power, commercial policy, and relations with Britain were increasingly contentious. He was also elected to the Massachusetts State Senate, serving from 1806 to 1811. His repeated elections to both houses of the state legislature underscored his standing as a leading figure in the District of Maine and within Massachusetts politics more broadly.

Hubbard advanced to national office when he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Thirteenth Congress, representing Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1815. His term in Congress coincided with the height of the War of 1812, during which New England’s economic and political divisions over the conflict were pronounced. As a Democratic-Republican, Hubbard aligned with the party that had led the nation into war and generally supported the Jeffersonian and Madisonian vision of limited federal government and agrarian republicanism, while representing a district whose economy was affected by wartime disruptions and maritime concerns.

After leaving the House of Representatives in 1815, Hubbard returned to Paris, Maine, and resumed his agricultural pursuits. He remained engaged in public life, however, and was again elected to the Massachusetts State Senate, serving in 1816. His continued legislative service after his term in Congress reflected both his enduring popularity and the ongoing importance of Maine’s interests within the Massachusetts political framework in the years leading up to Maine’s eventual separation and admission to the Union as a state in 1820.

Following Maine’s statehood, Hubbard continued to participate in the political life of the new state. In 1829 he served as a member of the Executive Council of Maine, an advisory body to the governor that played a significant role in state administration and appointments. His service on the Executive Council marked the culmination of a long career in public office at the town, county, state, and national levels, and demonstrated his adaptability to the changing constitutional and political arrangements as Maine transitioned from a district of Massachusetts to an independent state.

Levi Hubbard died in Paris, Maine, on February 18, 1836. He was originally interred in a tomb on his farm, reflecting his deep connection to the land and community where he had spent most of his adult life. His remains were later reinterred at Hillside Cemetery in Paris, where he is buried among other early settlers and public figures of the region.