The Road to Civil War

William Pennington

(May 4, 1796 — February 16, 1862) William Pennington, (cousin of Alexander Cumming McWhorter Pennington), a Representative from New Jersey; born in Newark, N.J., May 4, 1796; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Princeton College in 1813; clerk of the United States district court 1815-1826; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newark in 1820; member of the State general assembly in 1828; served as sergeant at law in 1834; Governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843; appointed Governor of Minnesota Territory by President Fillmore but declined to accept; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859-March 3, 1861); Speaker of the House of Representatives (Thirty-sixth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1860 to the Thirty-seventh Congress; died in Newark, N.J., February 16, 1862; interment in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. [Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/P000214]

Member of New Jersey Delegation - The Road to Civil War [this display].

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