Representative Charles Abbot Stevens - Contact Information

Charles Abbot Stevens (August 9, 1816 – April 7, 1892) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, a manufacturer, and a long‑time participant in state and national politics. He was the brother of Moses Tyler Stevens, who also served in Congress, and a cousin of Isaac Ingalls Stevens, the first governor of Washington Territory. As a member of the Republican Party representing Massachusetts, Stevens contributed to the legislative process during one term in office, serving in Congress during a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his constituents.

Stevens was born on August 9, 1816, in North Andover, then a part of Andover, in Essex County, Massachusetts. He was educated at Franklin Academy, a local institution that prepared many young men of the region for commercial and professional careers. His early life in a New England manufacturing community and his family’s connections to public service helped shape both his business pursuits and his later political commitments.

In 1841 Stevens moved into the textile industry, establishing himself as a manufacturer of flannels and broadcloths in Ware, Massachusetts. This enterprise placed him within the expanding industrial economy of western Massachusetts, where textile production was becoming a central element of local development. His success as a manufacturer provided him with both the economic standing and the civic prominence that would support his entry into public life, and he continued his business interests throughout his political career.

Politically, Stevens emerged first as an anti-slavery activist. In the 1840s he was a member of the Free Soil Party, which opposed the extension of slavery into the western territories. Reflecting his growing involvement in public affairs, he served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1853. When the Republican Party was founded in the 1850s, Stevens joined its ranks, aligning himself with its anti-slavery and pro-Union platform. He later served as a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1860, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency, and again in 1868, underscoring his continuing influence within the party.

Stevens’s state-level service expanded when he became a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council, on which he served from 1867 to 1870. In this capacity he advised the governor on appointments and other executive matters, participating in the governance of the Commonwealth during the Reconstruction era. His experience in state government and party leadership laid the groundwork for his subsequent candidacies for federal office.

Stevens was first a candidate for Congress in the mid-1870s. He was unsuccessful in his bid for election in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress. Shortly thereafter, however, he was elected as a Republican to the Forty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Alvah Crocker. Stevens served in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 27, 1875, to March 3, 1875. Although his tenure was brief and he did not run for a full term, he participated in the legislative process during a critical period of post–Civil War adjustment, contributing to the work of Congress as it addressed issues of reconstruction, economic development, and national reconciliation.

After leaving Congress, Stevens returned to his manufacturing and business pursuits in Ware, maintaining his role as a prominent local industrialist and Republican elder statesman. He did not again seek national office but remained identified with the party and with the economic life of his community. Stevens died in New York City on April 7, 1892. His body was returned to Massachusetts, and he was interred in Aspen Grove Cemetery in Ware, reflecting the town’s central place in his professional and public life.