Representative Luther Severance

Luther Severance (October 26, 1797 – January 25, 1855) was a United States representative and diplomat from Maine. A member of the Whig Party, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and later held a diplomatic post in the Kingdom of Hawaii during a formative period in American political and international affairs.

Severance was born in Montague, Franklin County, Massachusetts, on October 26, 1797. In 1799 he moved with his parents to Cazenovia, New York, which was then a developing settlement in central New York. He attended the common schools and, as a young man, learned the printer’s trade in Peterboro, New York. This early training in printing and publishing would shape his professional life and provide an avenue into public affairs and politics.

After completing his apprenticeship in the printing trade, Severance relocated to Maine, where he became an influential figure in the state’s emerging press. In 1825 he established the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Maine, which became an important newspaper in the region and a vehicle for political discourse. Through his work as a printer and editor, he gained prominence within Maine’s political circles. He was elected a member of the Maine House of Representatives and later served in the Maine State Senate, participating in state-level legislative deliberations and helping to represent the interests of his constituents in Augusta and the surrounding region.

Building on his state legislative experience, Severance entered national politics as a member of the Whig Party. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses, serving in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1847. During these two terms in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process at a time marked by debates over territorial expansion, economic policy, and the evolving balance between free and slave states. As a representative from Maine, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents within the broader national context of the 1840s. His standing within the Whig Party was further underscored when he served as a vice president of the Whig National Convention in 1848, a key gathering that helped shape the party’s platform and presidential ticket in the turbulent years leading up to the Compromise of 1850.

Following his congressional service, Severance continued his public career in the field of diplomacy. He was appointed United States commissioner to the Kingdom of Hawaii, a diplomatic rank similar to that of ambassador, and served in that capacity from 1850 through the end of 1853. His tenure in Hawaii coincided with a period of increasing American commercial and strategic interest in the islands, and his role as commissioner placed him at the center of early U.S.–Hawaiian relations. In this position he represented American interests, oversaw diplomatic communications, and helped manage the growing presence of American citizens and commerce in the kingdom.

In his personal life, Severance married Anna Hamlin (May 31, 1801 – April 2, 1887), daughter of Theophilus and Sarah Rockwood Hamlin, on October 12, 1827. The couple had three children, all of whom developed significant ties to Hawaii, reflecting the family’s enduring connection to Severance’s diplomatic posting. Their son Henry Weld Severance (July 12, 1828 – February 11, 1908) married Hannah Swann Child and became the Hawaiian consul for San Francisco, extending the family’s involvement in Pacific affairs. Their daughter Anna Severance (April 12, 1831 – June 20, 1912) married William Cooper Parke, who served as Marshal of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Their younger son, also named Luther Severance (June 1, 1836 – July 8, 1917), married Lucinda Maria Clark, daughter of missionary Ephraim Weston Clark, and settled in Honolulu and later Hilo, where he served as postmaster of Hilo. Through these family connections, the Severance name remained associated with public service and Hawaiian civic life long after Luther Severance’s own diplomatic tenure ended.

After concluding his service as United States commissioner in Hawaii at the end of 1853, Severance returned to Maine. He spent his final years in Augusta, where his earlier career in journalism and state politics had begun. He died in Augusta, Maine, on January 25, 1855. He was interred in Forest Grove Cemetery, leaving a legacy as a newspaperman, state legislator, congressman, party leader, and diplomat whose career linked New England and the Pacific at a pivotal moment in American history.