Samuel Chilton

For the bishop of Virginia, see Samuel B. Chilton.

Samuel Chilton (September 7, 1804 – January 14, 1867) was a 19th-century politician and lawyer from Virginia.

Samuel Chilton
Born	September 7, 1804 Fauquier County, Virginia, US
Died	January 14, 1867(1867-01-14) (aged 62) Warrenton, Virginia, US
Occupation(s)	Politician, lawyer
Spouse	Isabella R. Brooke (m. 1832)
Children	5

Biography

Chilton's grave in the family plot at Warrenton Cemetery.

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. Despite having owned slaves, in 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for abolitionist John Brown after his previous defense attorneys advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.^[1]

Chilton died in Warrenton on January 14, 1867, and was interred there at Warrenton Cemetery.