Addison, Henry

Born: 1798-01-24 Maryland

Died: 1870-01-03 Georgetown, District of Columbia

Flourished: Georgetown, District of Columbia

Henry Addison, merchant and public official, settled permanently in Georgetown as a young man. He was twice collector of customs for Georgetown, serving first from 1841 to 1845 by appointment of President John Tyler. Addison was subsequently nominated again for the position by President Zachary Taylor in December of 1849, his appointment was confirmed in September of 1850, and he served until 1853. Addison was for many years mayor of Georgetown, from 1845 to 1857 and again from 1859 to 1867. Abraham Lincoln appointed him deputy postmaster of Georgetown in 1861 and he held the position about four years. Politically, Addison ran as the American Party candidate in the Georgetown mayoral elections of 1855 and 1857, declared himself a neutral or “No-Party” candidate in 1859, and ran for mayor as a pro-Union candidate in 1861, 1863, and 1865. Addison married Martha E. Clagett in 1821 and was survived by six children.

Richard P. Jackson, The Chronicles of Georgetown, D.C. from 1751 to 1878 (Washington, DC: R. O. Polkinhorn, 1878), 59, 89-93, 101; District of Columbia, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1801-1825, 4 January 1821, Washington, DC (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 1997); Journal of Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1887), 5:396, 401; 8:105, 250, 259; 11:414, 467-68; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Georgetown, Washington, DC, 210; Alexandria Gazette (VA), 28 February 1855, 2:1; The Sun (Baltimore, MD), 24 February 1857, 2:2; The States (Washington, DC), 15 January 1859, 3:3; The Daily Globe (Washington, DC), 28 February 1859, 4:6; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Ward 1, Georgetown, Washington, DC, 34; National Republican (Washington, DC), 27 February 1861, 3:3; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1858-1876, 29:[2]; The Alexandria Gazette (VA), 25 February 1863, 1:2; Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, DC), 18 January 1865, 1:2; The Evening Star (Washington, DC), 4 January 1870, 4:5; Gravestone, Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, DC.