Cornelius Darragh (1809December 22, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as a Whig member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, a U. S. District Attorney, a member of the

U.S. 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 ...

and as state

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Early life and education

Cornelius Darragh was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, one of six children to

John Darragh John Darragh (1772 – May 14, 1828) was a U.S. politician. He served as the Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1817 to 1825. Early life Darragh was born in Ireland, the son of John Darragh and Margaret Oliver. In 1774, the Darragh family, including youn ...

, the 2nd Mayor of Pittsburgh and Margaret "Peggy" Calhoun. He attended the

Western University of Pennsylvania The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, and graduated with the class of 1826. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1829 and commenced practice in Pittsburgh. In 1830, he married Mary Holmes Simpson. They had two daughters, Margaret Calhoun and Elizabeth Simpson.

Career

He was a member of the

Pennsylvania State 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 ...

for the 21st district from 1836 to 1837 and the 19th district from 1838 to 1839. He was United States district attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania from 1841 to 1844. Darragh was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Wilkins. He was reelected to the Twenty-ninth Congress. He served as attorney general of Pennsylvania from January 4, 1849, to April 28, 1851. Darragh died in Pittsburgh in 1854 and was interred in

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and boun ...

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

* 1809 births 1854 deaths 19th-century American politicians Burials at Allegheny Cemetery Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh alumni United States Attorneys for the Western District of Pennsylvania Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American lawyers {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub