Education
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.
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Samuel Chilton
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Career
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.
In 1859 he was appointed as a defense attorney for abolitionist John Brown after his previous defense attorneys had advocated that the defendant advance a plea of insanity as his defense.
Chilton died in Warrenton on January 7, 1867 and was interred there at Warrenton Cemetery.
Politics
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 moved to Washington, District of Columbia, by 1853 and became a member of American Party, or Know-Nothings.
