Benjamin Babock Thurston

Benjamin Babock Thurston (born June 29, 1804 in Hopkinton , Rhode Island , †  May 17, 1886 in New London , Connecticut ) was an American politician . Between 1847 and 1849 and again from 1851 to 1857 he represented the second constituency of the state of Rhode Island in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Benjamin Thurston was the son of Jeremiah Thurston (1768-1830), who was Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island in 1816 and 1817 . He attended the public schools in his home country and then worked in trade. He was involved in politics from an early age. He became a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1831 and 1837 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Rhode Island ; in 1838 he served as lieutenant governor of his state.

In 1846 Thurston was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Lemuel H. Arnold on March 4, 1847 . But since he lost in the next election to Nathan Dixon of the Whig Party , he was only able to serve one term in Congress until March 3, 1849 . Two years later, however, he regained his parliamentary mandate. After he was re-elected twice, Thurston could spend three consecutive terms in Congress between March 4, 1851 and March 3, 1857. During his last term in office, he sat there as a representative of the short-lived American Party . From 1851 to 1853 he was chairman of the Ministry of Finance's Expenditure Control Committee; from 1853 to 1855 he was a member of the patent committee. During his last legislative term from 1855 to 1857, Thurston was a member of the Committee on Accounts . His time in Congress was overshadowed by the discussions and events leading up to the civil war.

For the elections of 1856 he decided not to run again. After his tenure in Congress was over, Thurston moved to New London, Connecticut. There he was on the city council between 1862 and 1863. Thurston was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1869 and 1870 . Professionally, he was back in the trade.

Web links

• Benjamin Babock Thurston in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Benjamin Babock Thurston in the database of Find a Grave (English)