Samuel Anderson Purviance

Samuel Anderson Purviance (1859)

Samuel Anderson Purviance (born January 10, 1809 in Butler , Pennsylvania , †  February 14, 1882 in Allegheny , Pennsylvania) was an American politician . Between 1855 and 1859 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Samuel Purviance attended elementary school and then college. After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1827, he began to work in this profession in Butler. He has since moved to Warren County , where he served as the district attorney for two years . He then returned to Butler, where he continued his legal practice. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Whigs . In 1837 and 1838 he took part as a delegate to a constitutional convention of his state; from 1838 to 1839 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania . In May 1844 he was a delegate to the Whigs federal party conference . After its dissolution, he was a member of the short-lived opposition party for a short time . After that he joined the Republicans . In 1856, 1860, 1864 and 1868 he attended as a delegate the respective Republican National Conventions , at which John C. Frémont , twice Abraham Lincoln and finally Ulysses S. Grant were nominated as presidential candidates.

In the congressional elections of 1854 Purviance was elected for the opposition party in the 22nd  constituency of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Thomas Marshall Howe on March 4, 1855 . After re-election as Republican, he was able to complete two terms in Congress until March 3, 1859 . These were shaped by the events leading up to the civil war . In 1858 he was no longer nominated for re-election by his party.

In 1859 Samuel Purviance moved to Pittsburgh , where he practiced as a lawyer until 1876. In 1861 he served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania. From 1864 and 1868 he was Republican party leader of his state. In 1872 he was again a delegate to a constitutional convention of Pennsylvania; In 1874 he tried unsuccessfully to return to Congress. Since 1876 he lived in retirement. He died on February 14, 1882 in Allegheny, a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Web links

• Samuel Anderson Purviance in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Samuel Anderson Purviance in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Marshall Howe	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (22nd constituency) March 4, 1855 - March 3, 1859	Robert McKnight