History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States

by William Horatio Barnes

WILLIAM B. CAMPBELL was born in Tennessee, and served as Captain of mounted Volunteers in the Florida War. He served for some time in the State Legislature, and was a Representative in Congress from 1837 to 1843. He commanded the first regiment of Tennessee Volunteers in the Mexican War, and at its close he was elected a Circuit Judge. From 1851 to 1853 he was Governor of Tennessee. In 1865 he was elected a Representative from Tennessee to the Thirty-Ninth Congress, but was not admitted until July, 1866. He died of disease of the heart at his residence in Lebanon, Tennessee, August 19, 1867.

ALEXANDER G. CATTELL was born in Salem, New Jersey, in 1816. He received a commercial education, and began his business-life, as a clerk, at the age of thirteen. Before reaching his majority he had advanced to the head of a large and flourishing business. In 1840 he was elected to the General Assembly of New Jersey, and in 1844 he was a member of the Convention called to frame a new Constitution for that State. He subsequently became the head of the extensive mercantile house of A. G. Cattell & Co., of Philadelphia. During a residence of nine years in that city he was several times elected to the City Council, and was President of the Corn Exchange Association, which, largely through his exertions, recruited and equipped two and a half regiments for service in the late war. Having resumed his residence in New Jersey, he was, in 1866, elected a Senator in Congress from that State.—569.

ZACHARIAH CHANDLER was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, December 10, 1813. He received an academical education, and removed to Michigan, where he engaged extensively in mercantile pursuits and in banking. In 1851 he held the office of Mayor of Detroit. In 1852 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Michigan. He entered the United States Senate, during the Thirty-Fifth Congress, as the successor of General Cass. In 1863 he was re-elected to the Senate for the term ending in 1869.—27, 397.

JOHN W. CHANLER was born in the City of New York in 1826. In 1859 and 1860 he was a member of the General Assembly of New York. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-Eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-Ninth and Fortieth Congresses.—64, 156, 337, 338, 571.

J. FRANCISCO CHAVES was born in New Mexico in 1833. He studied medicine in New York, and subsequently devoted several years to mercantile pursuits and cattle-raising. In 1861 he entered the military service as Major of the First New Mexico Infantry, and after seeing much active service was mustered out as Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1865 he was elected a Delegate from New Mexico to the Thirty-Ninth Congress.

DANIEL CLARK was born in Stratham, New Hampshire, October 24, 1809. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1834, and was admitted to the bar in 1837. From 1842 to 1857 he was repeatedly a member of the New Hampshire Legislature. In 1857 he was elected a Senator in Congress from New Hampshire, and in 1861 he was re-elected for the term ending in 1867. At the close of the first session of the Thirty-Ninth Congress he resigned his seat in the Senate, having been appointed U. S. District Judge for New Hampshire.—28, 201, 202, 388, 453, 455, 456, 479.

READER W. CLARKE was born in Bethel, Clermont County, Ohio, May 18, 1812. He learned the art of printing, but subsequently studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1836. In 1840 and 1841 he was a member of the Ohio Legislature. He was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention of 1844, and was a Presidential Elector in the same year. For six years succeeding 1846 he held the office of Clerk of the Courts of Clermont County. He was a delegate to the Chicago Convention of 1860. In 1864 he was elected a Representative from Ohio to the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress.

SIDNEY CLARKE was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, October 16, 1831. He adopted the profession of an editor, and published the "Southbridge Press." He emigrated to Kansas in 1858, and settled in Lawrence. In 1862 he was a member of the Kansas Legislature. He served during the rebellion as Captain of Volunteers, and Assistant Provost Marshal General for Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota. In 1864 he was elected the Representative from Kansas to the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and was re-elected to the Fortieth.—88.

AMASA COBB was born in Crawford County, Illinois, September 27, 1823. He emigrated to Wisconsin Territory in 1842, and engaged in the lead-mining business. He served as a private in the Mexican War, and at the close of this service he commenced the practice of law. He served as District Attorney, State Senator, and Adjutant-General of Wisconsin. He was subsequently a member of the State Legislature, and was chosen Speaker. He was Colonel of the Fifth Wisconsin Regiment in the war, and was elected a Representative from Wisconsin to the Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, and Fortieth Congresses.

ALEXANDER H. COFFROTH was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1828. He commenced the practice of law in 1851. He was a delegate to the Charleston Convention in 1860, and was elected a Representative to the Thirty-Eighth Congress. He appeared as a member of the Thirty-Ninth Congress, but his seat was successfully contested by William H. Koontz.