Joseph Bradley Varnum; American Patriot, Speaker of the House, U.S. Senator, President pro tempore of the United States Senate, and Westford Academy Trustee.
By James VanBever (January 2021)
Joseph Bradley Varnum was born in Dracut, Massachusetts in 1750. Even though Varnum had little formal education, he became a self-taught scholar. At the age of 18, Joseph became a captain in the Massachusetts Militia and eventually commanded the town of Dracut’s militia in the Revolutionary War. By 1805 he had become a Major General.
Atter the war, Varnum became active in the Massachusetts state government. The Dracut native served in the Massachusetts House of Representative and later became a state senator. His service to the state also included being named Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Court of General Sessions even though he was not a lawyer.
Later, General Varnum served in the House of Representative and eventually became Speaker of the House from 1807 to 1811. In 1805 Congressman Varnum submitted a Massachusetts proposition to amend the United States Constitution to abolish the slave trade in America. The amendment was initially tabled, but under Varnum’s leadership the amendment traveled through Congress and passed both houses on March 2, 1807, and two days later President Thomas Jefferson signed it into law.
In 1811, Joseph Bradley Varnum was elected to the United States Senate which he served until 1817. During his time in the senate, Senator Varnum served as President pro tempore of the Senate from December 1813 to April 1814. As President pro tempore, Varnum would act as vice president of the United States if the sitting vice president were away or unavailable.
In the midst of his dedicated career to his state and country, Joseph Bradley Varnum was chosen by Westford’s Zacheus Wright to be one of the original trustees of Westford Academy. The self-taught scholar served as a Westford Academy trustee until 1820 and helped guide the fledgling Academy to become one of the best co-educational secondary schools in the country.
Joseph married Molly Butler of Pelham, New Hampshire on Christmas Day 1772. Molly also played an important role in the American Revolution providing everyday support to the Minutemen. “In the Photographic History of Dracut” Donat Paquet said of Molly, “Her patriotism equaled that of her husband. She was tireless in finding means of providing necessities and some comfort to soldiers who were ill-equipped.”
After returning from Congress in 1817, General Varnum returned to Massachusetts and again served in the Massachusetts State Senate until he died on September 21, 1821. Joseph Bradley Varnum is buried along with wife Molly in the Varnum Cemetery in Dracut, Massachusetts.
- General information re: Joseph Bradley Varnum gleaned from Wikipedia and Ancestry.com.
** Information re: Molly Butler Varnum gleaned from 12/4/20 Lowell Sun article by Rebecca Duda.