CUTT, John, colonial governor of New Hampshire, born in England in 1625; died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 27 March 1681. He came to this country with his brothers, Richard and Robert, before 1645. RICUARD, born in 1627, settled on the Isles of Shoals and became a fisherman, but afterward removed to Portsmouth. ROBERT, born in 1628, became a noted ship-builder in Kittery, while John established himself in Portsmouth as a merchant, becoming also a farmer and a mill-owner, and acquired a large property. During the union with Massachusetts he was sent as deputy to the general court, and was one of a committee from Portsmouth appointed under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and against the claims of Captain John Mason. Charles II appointed him president of the province in 1679, and continued in that office until his death, when he was succeeded by Richard Waldron.

The descendants of these brothers (who now spell the name Cutts) include all the families on both sides of the Piscataqua.--Charles, senator, born in Portsmouth, N. H., 31 January 1769; died in Fairfax County, Virginia, 25 January 1846. He is fourth in descent from Governor John Cutt's brother Robert. He was graduated at Harvard in 1789, studied law with Judge Pickering, and was admitted to the bar. In 1804 he was elected to the New Hampshire legislature, becoming speaker of that body during the same year. He was elected a senator from New Hampshire, served from 3 December 1810, till 3 March 1813, and subsequently was appointed senator to fill a vacancy during a recess of the legislature, holding office from 24 May till 21 June 1813. From 1814 till 1825 he was secretary of the U. S. Senate.

--Richard Cutts, politician, born on Cutts island, near Saco, Maine, 22 June 1771 ; died in Washington, D. C., 7 April 1845. He was a first, cousin of Charles, and was descended from Robert. He was graduated at Harvard in 1790, after which he studied law, but was diverted to business, was extensively engaged in commerce, and spent some time in Europe. On his return he became a member of the Massachusetts legislature, serving in 1799 and in 1800. He was elected as a democrat to congress, and with subsequent re-elections served continuously through six terms, from 7 December 1801, till 3 March 1813, but was finally defeated by Cyrus King, when a candidate for the 13th congress. In June 1813, he was appointed superintendent-general of military supplies, an office which he continued to fill until it was abolished, in March 1817, after which he was appointed second comptroller of the treasury, remaining as such until 1829. He continued to reside in Washington in retirement until his death. In 1804 he married Anna Payne, sister of President Madison's wife.

-His son, James Madison Cutts, born on Cutts island, near Saco, Maine, 29 July 1805 ; died in Washington, D. C., 11 May 1863. He was educated in Washington, and was destined for the bar. but the war of 1812 swept away much of his father's property, and young Cutts, then a student in William Wirt's office, was compelled to give up his studies. He was appointed in the treasury department, becoming chief clerk in the second comptroller's office, and ultimately, during Buchanan's administration, second comptroller. This office he held until his death, through the administration of President Lincoln. His daughter Ada married, first, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, and, several years after his death, Colonel Robert Williams, U. S. A.

--Another son, Richard Dominicus Cutts, surveyor, born in Washington, D. C., 21 September 1817; died there, 13 December 1883. He was educated at Georgetown College, and entered the coast survey in 1843, remaining in its service for over forty years. His first efforts were directed toward raising the standard of topographical work, which he accomplished with eminent success. Of late years the higher scientific work of the survey has occupied his attention, and his operations have extended to all parts of the country. The shores of the Chesapeake, the coasts of the Pacific, the plains of Texas, and the mountains of New England equally bear testimony to his professional ability. To him the navigators of the Pacific are indebted for the first surveys of San Francisco, San Diego, and Monterey bays, and some other minor harbors on the coast. In 1855 he was appointed U. S. surveyor upon the International fisheries commission for the settlement of the limits of the fishing-grounds between the United States and the British dominions in North America. In the civil war he was on the staff of General Henry W. Halleck, and received the brevet rank of brigadier-general of volunteers in March 1865. In 1873 he was one of the U. S. commissioners to the Vienna international exposition, and in 1883 he attended the International geodesic conference in Rome, which was convened for the purpose of considering a universal prime meridian and the unification of time. He held at his death the office of first assistant superintendent of the coast survey, having direct charge of the office and topography. In 1845 he married Martha Jefferson Hackley, granddaughter of Thomas Mann Randolph, of Tuckahoe, Georgia