Samuel Chilton

Chilton's grave in the family plot at Warrenton Cemetery.

Born in Warrenton, Virginia, Chilton moved to Missouri with his family as a child and attended private school there. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1826, commencing practice back in Warrenton. He got involved in politics and was elected a Whig to the United States House of Representatives in 1842 when he narrowly defeated William "Extra Billy" Smith following a redistricting. Chilton served one term from 1843 to 1845, during which he advocated abolishing imprisonment for debt. Afterward, he returned to practicing law and was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention from 1850 to 1851. At the convention he proposed a key compromise on legislative apportionment.

Chilton moved to Washington, D.C., by 1853 and became a member of American Party, or Know-Nothings. In 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for abolitionist John Brown after his previous defense attorneys advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.

Chilton died in Warrenton on January 14, 1867 and was interred there at Warrenton Cemetery.

• John T. Kneebone et al., eds., Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 1998- ), 3:217-218. ISBN 0-88490-206-4.
• Death date in obituary, Warrenton True Index, 12, January 19, 1867.
• "John Brown Trial: 1859 - Brown's Lawyers Search For A Defense," Law Library - American Law and Legal Information, http://law.jrank.org/pages/2558/John-Brown-Trial-1859-Brown-s-Lawyers-Search-Defense.html (accessed December 14, 2009).

• United States Congress. "Samuel Chilton (id: C000358)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Samuel Chilton at Encyclopedia Virginia
• Samuel Chilton at Find a Grave