Samuel Chilton (September 7, 1805 – January 7, 1867) was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia.
Born in Warrenton, Virginia, Chilton moved to Missouri with his family as a child and attended private school there. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1826, commencing practice back in Warrenton. He got involved in politics and was elected a Whig to the United States House of Representatives in 1842, when he narrowly defeated William "Extra Billy" Smith following a redistricting. Chilton served one term from 1843 to 1845, during which he advocated abolishing imprisonment for debt. Afterward, he returned to practicing law and was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention from 1850 to 1851. At the convention, he proposed a key compromise on legislative apportionment.
Chilton moved to Washington, D.C., by 1853 and became a member of American Party, or Know-Nothings. In 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for abolitionist John Brown but was dismissed by his client because he had advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.
Chilton died in Warrenton on January 7, 1867 and was interned there at Warrenton Cemetery.
Sources
- John T. Kneebone et al., eds., Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 1998- ), 3:217-218. ISBN 0-88490-206-4.
- Death date in obituary, Warrenton True Index, 12, 19 Jan. 1867.
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