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CROWNINSHIELD, Benjamin Williams (1772-1851)
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CROWNINSHIELD, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS, (brother of Jacob Crowninshield), a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Salem, Mass., December 27, 1772; prepared for college; engaged in mercantile pursuits in Salem, Mass.; member of the State house of representatives in 1811; served in the State senate in 1812; appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Madison December 19, 1814; reappointed by President Monroe and served in this capacity until October 1, 1818, when he resigned; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1821; elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth Congress; reelected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses; and reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1823-March 3, 1831); chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Eighteenth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1833; resumed his former business pursuits; died in Boston, Mass., February 3, 1851; interment in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass.

Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn, NY
Papers: March 5, 1817. 1 naval appointment.
Finding aid in repository.

Duke University
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library
Durham, NC
Papers: 1815-1816, 2 letters.
The collection of Benjamin Crowninshield contains letters discussing appointments in the U.S. Navy.

Gunston Hall Plantation
Mason Neck, VA
Papers: In the John Mason Papers, 1790-1840, 12 items.
Other authors include Benjamin W. Crowninshield.

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers: 1823-1830, 5 items.
Letters of Benjamin Williams Crowninshield, 1823-1830.

Papers: In the John A. Cook Papers, 1812-1831, 8 items.
Correspondents include Benjamin W. Crowninshield. A finding aid is available in the library.

Papers: In the Court-martial proceedings of Herman Thorn, 1813-1843, 1 volume.
Persons represented include Benjamin Williams Crowninshield.

Papers: In the Horace Bucklin Sawyer Papers, 1812-1950, 1 linear foot.
Correspondents include Benjamin W. Crowninshield. A finding aid is available in the library.

Papers: In the Stevens Family Papers, 1810-1952, 35 items.
Correspondents include Benjamin W. Crowninshield.

The Library of Virginia
Archives Division
Richmond, VA
Papers: In Correspondence from John J. Frobel and Thomas Blanchard, 1804, 3 leaves.
Correspondents include Benjamin Crowninshield.

Papers: In the Correspondence with B. Lynde Oliver and William Pynchon Oliver, 1804, 5 leaves.
Correspondents include Benjamin Crowninshield.

New-York Historical Society
New York, NY
Papers: In the Isaac Chauncey Letterbooks, 1805-1821, 6 volumes.
Correspondents include Benjamin W. Crowninshield.

Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, MA
Papers: In the Crowninshield Family Papers, 1697-1909, 10 linear feet.
Persons represented include Benjamin W. Crowninshield. An finding aid is available in the repository.

Papers: In the Crowninshield Family Papers, 1756-1864, 4.25 linear feet.
Persons represented include Benjamin W. Crowninshield. An finding aid is available in the repository.

Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, MA
Papers: In the Ebenezer Hunt Correspondence, 1815-1864, 1 box.
Other authors include Benjamin W. Crowninshield.

Naval War College Library
Newport, RI
Papers: ca. 1815, 1 page.
Manuscript letter signed from Benjamin W. Crowninshield to Captain David Porter written on April 20, 1815. In the letter, Benjamin Crowninshield transmits his commission as Commissioner of the Navy as of February 28, 1815.

  • Massachusetts. General Court. House of Representatives. Mr. Crowinshield's resolutions [on foreign interference with American commerce]. [Boston: N.p., 1808?]