Samuel P. Benson

Samuel P. Benson

Samuel Page Benson (born November 28, 1804 in Winthrop , Kennebec County , Maine , †  August 12, 1876 in Yarmouth , Maine) was an American politician . Between 1853 and 1857 he represented the state of Maine in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Samuel Benson was born in 1804 in Winthrop, which was then still part of Massachusetts and has been part of the state of Maine since 1820. At times he enjoyed a private education and also attended the Monmouth Academy . He then studied until 1825 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1828, he began to practice in Unity (Maine) in his new profession. He then returned to Winthrop, where he worked as a lawyer until 1850. He also got into the railroad business. He was on the board of a local railroad company.

In addition to his other activities, Benson began a political career and became a member of the Whig Party . He was a member of the House of Representatives from Maine in 1833 and 1834 . Between 1836 and 1837 he was a member of the State Senate . From 1838 to 1841 he was Secretary of State of Maine. Between 1838 and 1876 he served on the board of directors of Bowdoin College. From 1844 to 1848, Benson was also chairman of the Winthrop parish council.

In 1852 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fourth constituency of Maine , where he succeeded Isaac Reed on March 4, 1853 . After a re-election in 1854, he was able to complete two terms in Congress until March 3, 1857 . From 1855 he was chairman of the committee on maritime affairs. His time in Congress was dominated by the heated debates surrounding slavery in the run-up to the civil war .

In 1856, Benson declined to run again. He withdrew from politics and went back to work as a lawyer. Samuel Benson died in Yarmouth on August 12, 1876; he was buried in his home town of Winthrop.

Web links

• Samuel P. Benson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Samuel P. Benson in the database of Find a Grave (English)