Richard Cutts

Cutts was born Cutts Island on June 28, 1771. The island was near the town of Pepperellborough in Massachusetts Bay's Province of Maine (modern-day Saco, Maine). he attended the rural schools of Maine and Phillips Academy, Andover. He graduated from Harvard University in 1790, then traveled extensively in Europe. Cutts studied law, but rather than pursuing a legal career, he also became a successful trader and merchant. ==Political career==

A Democratic-Republican, Cutts served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1799 and 1800. He served until March 21, 1829, and was succeeded by Isaac Hill. ==Death and burial==

In retirement, Cutts was a resident of Washington, D.C. He died in Washington on April 7, 1845. Cutts was buried at St. John's Graveyard, and in 1857 he was reinterred at Oak Hill Cemetery. ==Family==

In 1804, Cutts married Anna Payne, whose sister Dolley Madison was the wife of Secretary of State (and later, President) James Madison. • James Madison (1805–1863) • Thomas (1806–1838) • Walter Coles (b. 1808, d. after 1833) • Richard (1810–1815) • Dorthea (Dolley) Payne Madison (1811–1838) • Mary Estelle Elizabeth (1814–1856) • Richard Dominicus (1817–1883) Cutts' daughter Mary was close to Dolley Madison and wrote two memoirs about her. Cutts' grandson James M. Cutts was a member of the Union Army during the American Civil War and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. His granddaughter Adèle Cutts Douglas was the second wife of Senator Stephen A. Douglas. ==References==