Ben C. Eastman (October 24, 1812 – February 2, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who represented

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses.

Biography

Born in Strong in Massachusetts'

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...

, Eastman attended the public schools. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and practiced in Green Bay,

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

. He moved to Platteville, the same year and continued the practice of law and then served as secretary of the legislative council of Wisconsin Territory 1843–1846. He served one term on the Board of Supervisors of

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States *Grant County, Arkansas *Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky *Grant County, Minnesota *Grant County, Nebraska *Grant C ...

. In 1850, Eastman ran for Congress on the Democratic ticket in the 2nd District, which, in 1850, covered a wide swath of western Wisconsin. He defeated Whig incumbent

Orsamus Cole Orsamus R. Cole (August 23, 1819May 5, 1903) was an American lawyer and judge. He served as the 6th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and, until 2013, was the longest-serving justice in the Court's history, with nearly 37 years on th ...

, and went on to serve in the thirty-second Congress. He was re-elected in 1852. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1854, and resumed the practice of law. He died in Platteville on February 2, 1856 after an illness of several weeks, He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

Sources

1812 births 1856 deaths People from Strong, Maine People from Platteville, Wisconsin Wisconsin Territory officials District attorneys in Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Madison, Wisconsin) {{Wisconsin-Representative-stub