Benjamin Stark

Benjamin Stark (born June 26, 1820 in New Orleans , Louisiana , † October 10, 1898 in New London , New London County , Connecticut ) was an American politician . In 1861 and 1862 he represented the state of Oregon in the US Senate .

Career

In his youth, Benjamin Stark came to New London, Connecticut with his parents, where he graduated from Union School . He was then enrolled at the Hebron Academy in Maine . Between 1835 and 1845 he worked in New York City in commerce. In 1846 he first came to the area of ​​what would later become the city of Portland on a trade trip . In 1849 and 1850, at the time of the California Gold Rush, he was in trade in San Francisco . After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1850, he began working in his new profession in Portland. Politically, he initially belonged to the Whig Party . In 1852 he became a member of the Territorial House of Representatives for Oregon. A year later he was involved as a colonel in a local Indian war. Then he switched to the Democratic Party . As their candidate he was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1860 .

After the previous US Senator Edward Dickinson Baker was fatally wounded on October 21, 1861 in a skirmish during the American Civil War , Benjamin Stark was appointed as his successor in the Senate. He exercised the mandate between October 29, 1861 and September 12, 1862. In the actual by-election, which was then won by Benjamin F. Harding , Stark did not run. Stark was at least initially a supporter of slavery . After leaving Congress , he returned to practice as a lawyer. In 1864 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention . He later moved back to New London, Connecticut, where he served on the city council in 1873 and 1874. He was then elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1874 . He was also a member of the State Prison Commission. Benjamin Stark died in New London on October 10, 1898.

Web links

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

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