Samuel Wheeler Moulton (January 20, 1821 - June 3, 1905) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
Born in Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts, Moulton was the son of William Moulton (1775-1859) and Mary Lunt Moulton (1776-1850). The Moulton family was one of old Massachusetts stock, with Samuel's family lineage in the Americas going back to his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, James Moulton, who likely arrived in to Essex County from Norfolk, England in the early 1630s.
Young Samuel attended the public schools in Essex County. After completing his primary and secondary education, he moved to Kentucky, where he taught school for several years, thence to Mississippi where he continued to teach. While teaching in Mississippi, Samuel met Mary H. Afflick, and they married in 1844. This early experience as an educator would be part of the legacy Moulton would provide to his adopted home of Illinois.
The newly-married Moultons moved to to Illinois in 1845 and settled in Oakland, Coles County where he commenced the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1847 and commenced practice in Sullivan, Illinois. He moved to Shelbyville in 1849 and continued the practice of law. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1852-1859. He served as presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1856. He served as president of the board of education of the State of Illinois 1859-1876. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1862 to the Thirty-eighth Congress.
Moulton was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1865-March 3, 1867).
Moulton was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1885). He served as chairman of the Committee on Mileage (Forty-eighth Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884. He resumed the practice of law in Shelbyville. He was affiliated with the Republican Party after 1896. He died in Shelbyville, Illinois, June 3, 1905. He was interred in Glenwood Cemetery.
Moulton Hall at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, the middle school, Moulton United Methodist Church and the street Moulton Drive in Shelbyville, Illinois are all named in his honor.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James C. Allen |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's At-large congressional district March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867 |
Succeeded by John A. Logan |