Rufus K. Goodenow

Rufus King Goodenow (born April 24, 1790 in Henniker , Merrimack County , New Hampshire , †  March 24, 1863 in Paris , Maine ) was an American politician . Between 1849 and 1851 he represented the state of Maine in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Rufus Goodenow was the older brother of Robert Goodenow (1800–1874), who also represented the State of Maine in Congress between 1851 and 1853 , and of Daniel Goodenow (1793–1863) the later Maine Attorney General . In 1802 Rufus Goodenow moved to Brownfield , Maine with his parents . There he enjoyed a rather modest school education. He then worked in agriculture and as a sailor. During the British-American War of 1812 , Goodenow was a captain in an infantry unit in the US Army . In 1821 he moved to Paris (Maine); between 1821 and 1837 he was a court usher in Oxford County . Later he studied law himself and after his admission as a lawyer he also worked in this profession.

Politically, Goodenow was a member of the Whig Party . He was a member of the House of Representatives from Maine in 1837 and 1838 . In 1839 he was a delegate to the Whig National Convention in Harrisburg , where William H. Harrison was nominated as a presidential candidate. In 1848 Goodenow was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fourth constituency of Maine . There he took over from Franklin Clark of the Democratic Party on March 4, 1849 . By March 3, 1851, he completed a term in Congress. There, as in the entire American nation, slavery was the subject of heated debate. It was also about the admission of new states and the question of whether slavery should be allowed or forbidden there. In this context, the compromise of 1850 that US Senator Henry Clay had worked out was negotiated .

After the end of his time in the House of Representatives, Rufus Goodenow held no further higher political office. He returned to his private affairs and died on March 24, 1863 in Paris (Maine).

Web links

• Rufus K. Goodenow in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Rufus K. Goodenow in the database of Find a Grave (English)