Robert Rantoul Jr.

Robert Rantoul Jr. (August 13, 1805August 7, 1852) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. Rantoul was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1835–1839), the commission to revise the laws of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Board of Education (1837–1842). He was the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts (1846–1849). He was elected in 1850 to the United States House of Representatives for the 32nd Congress. Before his term there began, he was named as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Charles Winthrop, who had been appointed after the resignation of Daniel Webster and resigned when he failed to win election to a full term. Rantoul served in the Senate from February 1 to March 3, 1851, and then in the House from March 4, 1851, until his death. He was buried in Central Cemetery, Beverly, Massachusetts. Rantoul had a wife, Jane Elizabeth Woodbury, and two children, Robert S. Rantoul and Charles W. Rantoul. Early life Rantoul was born on August 13, 1805, in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of Robert and Joanna Lovett Rantoul. He attended the common schools and Phillips Andover Academy and graduated from Harvard University in 1826. From his early years, Rantoul exhibited a precociousness, maturity, and love for learning that made an indelible impression on those around him. As a child, Rantoul was known for his "ingeniousness, veracity, modesty, docility, and tender conscientiousness." An extract taken from his childhood journal, written at age 8, reads: "Jan. 4, 1814. Gained the following idea, namely, that I had better sometimes be imposed upon, than never to trust."