Benjamin Champneys (January 1800 – August 9, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and judge, who served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

and as Pennsylvania State Attorney General.

Early life and education

Champneys was born in

Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

along with John Fenwick, the grantee of the province. The family lived in

Bridgeton, New Jersey Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Cumberland County Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

for two years, but moved upon the death of his father in 1814. He studied law in Trenton under Chief Justice Charles Ewing. He moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and completed his legal studies under Judge

George Bryan Porter George Bryan Porter (February 9, 1791 – July 6, 1834) was an American politician, statesman in Pennsylvania and Territorial governor of Michigan from August 6, 1831, until his death on July 6, 1834. Early life Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, ...

, the future

Territorial Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan, is the head of government of Michigan and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto appropriation bills passed b ...

. He was admitted to the Lancaster County bar in 1818.

Career

Champneys worked as Deputy District Attorney for Mayor's Court from 1824 to 1830. He was elected as a Democratic member of the

in 1825 and 1828. He was appointed Deputy Attorney General for Lancaster County by Governor

David R. Porter David Rittenhouse Porter (October 31, 1788 – August 6, 1867) was the ninth governor of Pennsylvania. Voted into office during the controversial 1838 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, which was characterized by intense anti-Masonic and anti- ...

and served from 1830 to 1833. He served as President Judge of the Second Judicial District in 1839. He was elected to the

for the 6th district and served from 1843 to 1845. He was appointed state Attorney General by Governor

Francis R. Shunk Francis Rawn Shunk (August 7, 1788 – July 20, 1848) was the tenth governor of Pennsylvania from 1845 to 1848. Early career Shunk was born on August 7, 1788 in Trappe, Pennsylvania, to a poor farming family of German descent. His great-grandfa ...

and served from 1846 to 1848. With the onset of the Civil War, he switched parties. In 1863, he served again in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Lancaster County. He served again in the Pennsylvania Senate for the 16th district from 1864 to 1865 and for the 17th district from 1865 to 1866. He died in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

and is interred at the

Woodward Hill Cemetery Woodward Hill Cemetery is a 32-acre historic rural or garden cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The cemetery's creation was initiated by the Trinity Lutheran Church of Lancaster in October 1849. Land was subsequently purchased by the church, a ...

in Lancaster.

Personal life

Champneys married Elizabeth Bachman in 1821. A daughter, Elizabeth, would marry a same-named great-grandson of

William Augustus Atlee William Augustus Atlee (1735–1793) was a Judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and a University of Pennsylvania Trustee 1779-1786. Atlee was born in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania on July 1, 1735. He later moved to Lancaster County whe ...

References

External links

* * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Champneys, Benjamin 1800 births 1871 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania People from Bridgeton, New Jersey Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania Attorneys General Pennsylvania state senators Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Republicans

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links