Carson, Hampton L. (Hampton Lawrence), 1852-1929

President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Hampton Lawrence Carson was born on February 21, 1852, in Philadelphia to Joseph Carson (1808-1876) and Mary Hollingsworth (1813-1868). He married Anna Lea Baker (1854-1933) in 1880 and with her had five children. Hampton graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1874 and taught there from 1895 to 1903. He was also a partner in several private laws firm and dealt primarily in estate law. In 1903 Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker appointed him attorney general of Pennsylvania, a post which was held until 1907. From 1919 to 1921 Carson was both president of the American Bar Association and chairman of a sub-committee of the Pennsylvania Commission on Constitutional Amendment and Revision. He was a member of several other law organizations throughout his lifetime, as well as several historical associations including the American Historical Association Endowment Fund and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP). He was HSP president from 1921 until his death in 1929. His interest in history is also reflected in his major published works, History of the Supreme Court of the United States and History of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Carson was also an avid collector of manuscripts, autographs, political cartoons, and portraits.