Christopher Grant Champlin (1768-1840)

He was born at Newport, Rhode Island. He was educated at Harvard and the College of St.-Omer in France. In America, he settled in New York but lost a fortune speculating in the stock market and returned to Newport where he helped his father in his shipping business. In 1797, he was elected to Congress as a Federalist and retained his seat despite having lied about his investments in the south. In 1809, he was elected to the Senate to fill the opening left by the death of Francis Malbone. He resigned two years later and returned to Rhode Island where he continued his business interests and was briefly President of the Rhode Island Bank. He was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society and Colonel of the Newport Artillery Company. In 1793, he married Martha Redwood Ellery but their only child died young.