Representative Samuel Butman

Samuel Butman (April 30, 1788 – October 9, 1864) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A farmer and War of 1812 veteran, Butman served in the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine State Senate before entering the U.S. House of Representatives, where he represented Maine’s seventh congressional district. Late in life he returned to state politics in the Maine Senate, where he served as president of the chamber.

Butman was born in Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on April 30, 1788. In 1805, when he was a teenager, his family moved to Dixmont in what is now the state of Maine, then still a district of Massachusetts. In Dixmont his father, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, engaged in farming, and Samuel likewise took up agriculture as his principal occupation. He became identified with the rural community of central Maine, gaining local prominence as a farmer and citizen in the years leading up to statehood.

During the War of 1812, Butman served as captain of a militia company drawn from the local citizenry. In that capacity he participated in the ill-fated Battle of Hampden in September 1814, when British forces advanced up the Penobscot River and defeated the hastily assembled American defenders. His service in the militia during the conflict helped establish his standing in the region and provided him with military and leadership experience that would later support his entry into public office.

With the movement for Maine’s separation from Massachusetts gaining strength, Butman took part in the political reorganization of the district. In 1820, he was a delegate to the convention that framed the constitution of the new state of Maine, which was admitted to the Union that year under the Missouri Compromise. His participation in the constitutional convention marked his first significant role in public affairs and aligned him with the emerging leadership of the new state.

Butman entered elective office soon after statehood. In 1822, he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives and served in that body for that year. He subsequently advanced to the Maine State Senate, where he served from 1826 to 1827. His legislative work at the state level coincided with a period of institutional development for Maine, as the new state organized its laws, finances, and local governance structures.

Building on his state legislative experience, Butman was elected as a representative of Maine’s seventh congressional district to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1831. In Congress he served during the administrations of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, a time marked by debates over internal improvements, tariffs, and the evolving party system. Although detailed records of his committee assignments and floor activity are limited, his election and re-election reflected the confidence of his constituents in the largely rural district he represented.

After leaving Congress, Butman returned to Maine and resumed his agricultural pursuits while remaining active in public affairs. In 1846, he served as a county commissioner of Penobscot County, participating in the administration of county government at a time when local infrastructure and judicial arrangements were of growing importance to the expanding population. His service as commissioner underscored his continuing role in regional governance and his familiarity with local concerns.

Late in his career, Butman reentered state legislative politics. He was elected again to the Maine State Senate, this time as a member of the Whig Party, reflecting the realignment of national and state politics in the 1830s and 1840s. In 1853, he was chosen president of the Maine Senate, the presiding officer of the chamber, a position that testified to his seniority, experience, and the respect he commanded among his colleagues. His tenure as president came during a period of increasing sectional tension nationally, as debates over slavery and expansion intensified.

Samuel Butman spent his later years in central Maine, remaining associated with farming and local civic life. He died in Plymouth, Maine, on October 9, 1864. His career spanned the transition of Maine from a district of Massachusetts to an independent state and reflected the trajectory of a citizen-soldier and farmer who rose to positions of responsibility in both state and national government.