Darwin Phelps

Darwin Phelps

Darwin Phelps (born April 17, 1807 in East Granby , Hartford County , Connecticut , †  December 14, 1879 in Kittanning , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician . Between 1869 and 1871 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Darwin Phelps grew up as an orphan with his grandparents in Portage in the state of Ohio , where he attended the public schools. He then studied at the Western University of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh . After a subsequent law degree in Pittsburgh and his admission as a lawyer, he began to work in Kittanning in this profession from 1835. There he was eight times mayor ( Burgess ) between 1844 and 1861 . He was also a member of the local council in 1841 and 1848. He was also a board member of the Kittanning Academy . Politically, he joined the Republican Party in the 1850s . In 1856 he ran unsuccessfully for the office of Auditor General of his state. In May 1860, he took part as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Chicago , at which Abraham Lincoln was nominated as a presidential candidate. During the Civil War , he became a major in the State Militia in 1862. In 1865 he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives .

In the congressional election of 1868 Phelps was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 23rd  constituency of Pennsylvania , where he succeeded Thomas Williams on March 4, 1869 . Since he renounced another candidacy in 1870, he could only complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1871 . During this time the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified.

After the end of his time in the US House of Representatives, Darwin Phelps no longer appeared politically. He died on December 14, 1879 in Kittanning, where he was also buried.

Web links

• Darwin Phelps in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Darwin Phelps in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Williams	United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania (23rd constituency) March 4, 1869 - March 3, 1871	Ebenezer McJunkin