Christopher Gore (September 21, 1758 – March 1, 1827) was a prominent Massachusetts lawyer, Federalist politician, and U.S. diplomat. Born into a family divided by the American Revolution, Gore sided with the victorious Patriots, established a successful law practice in Boston, and built a fortune by purchasing Revolutionary government debts at a discount and receiving full value for them from the government.
Gore entered politics in 1788, serving briefly in the Massachusetts legislature before being appointed U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts. He was then appointed by President George Washington to a diplomatic commission dealing with maritime claims in Great Britain. He returned to Massachusetts in 1804 and reentered state politics, running unsuccessfully for governor several times before winning in 1809. He served one term, losing to Democratic-Republican Elbridge Gerry in 1810. He was appointed to the US Senate by Governor Caleb Strong in 1813, where he led opposition to the War of 1812.
Gore invested his fortune in a variety of businesses, including important infrastructure projects such as the Middlesex Canal and a bridge across the Charles River. He was a major investor in the early textile industry, funding the Boston Manufacturing Company and the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, whose business established the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. Gore was involved in a variety of charitable causes, and was a major benefactor of Harvard College, where the first library was named in his honor. His palatial mansion in Waltham, Massachusetts, now known as Gore Place, is one of the finest extant examples of Federal architecture, and has been declared a National Historic Landmark.
Early years
Christopher Gore was born in Boston on September 21, 1758, one of many children of Frances and John Gore, a successful merchant and artisan. He was the youngest of their three sons to survive to adulthood. He attended Boston Latin School, and entered Harvard College at the young age of thirteen. At the outset of the American Revolutionary War and the siege of Boston in 1775, Harvard's buildings were occupied by the Continental Army, and Gore temporarily continued his studies in Bradford until Harvard could resume operations in Concord. While at Harvard, Gore participated in a speaking club and formed significant lifelong friendships with Rufus King and John Trumbull.
Gore graduated in 1776, and promptly enlisted in the Continental artillery regiment of his brother-in-law Thomas Crafts, where he served as a clerk until 1778. The Gore family was divided by the war: Gore's father was a Loyalist who left Boston when the British Army evacuated the city in March 1776. Gore was consequently called upon to support his mother and three sisters, who remained in Boston. In 1779, Gore successfully petitioned the state for the remaining family's share of his father's seized assets.
Early legal career
After his military service Gore studied law with John Lowell, and was admitted to the bar in 1778 after a comparatively brief tutelage. Gore's law practice flourished, in part because many Loyalist lawyers had fled Massachusetts. Gore's clients included Loyalists seeking to recover some of their assets, as well as London-based British merchants with claims to pursue. His briefs were generally well-reasoned, and he was seen as a successful trial lawyer.
Gore grew his fortune by investing carefully in revolutionary currency and bonds. The securities he purchased were paper that had been given to Continental Army soldiers in lieu of pay, which they often sold at a steep discount. One batch of securities he purchased, for instance, cost him about $3,700 but had a face value of $25,000. In 1785 he married Rebecca Amory Payne, daughter of a wealthy merchant, maritime insurer, and director of the Bank of Massachusetts. The couple were known for their social graces and became prominent members of Boston society.