Elisha Whittlesey (October 19, 1783 – January 7, 1863) was a lawyer, civil servant and

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Biography

Born in

Washington, Connecticut Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civi ...

, Whittlesey moved with his parents in early youth to

Salisbury, Connecticut Salisbury () is a town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut tri-state marker is located at the northwest corner of the town ...

. He attended the common schools at Danbury, and studied law there. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

of Fairfield County and practiced in Danbury and Fairfield County. He also practiced in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1805. He moved to

Canfield, Ohio Canfield is a city in central Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,699 as of the 2020 census. A suburb about southwest of Youngstown, the city lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62 and 224 and is part of the Youngs ...

, in 1806, where he practiced law and taught school. He served as prosecuting attorney of Mahoning County. He served as military and private secretary to Gen.

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

and as

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

major in the Army of the Northwest in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. He served as member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

in 1820 and 1821. Whittlesey was elected to the Eighteenth through Twenty-second Congresses, elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-third Congress, and elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses and served from March 4, 1823, to July 9, 1838, when he resigned. He was one of the founders of the Whig Party. He served as chairman of the Committee on Claims ( Twenty-first through Twenty-fifth Congresses). He was Sixth Auditor of the Treasury from March 18, 1841, until December 18, 1843, when he resigned and resumed the practice of law in Canfield. He was appointed general agent of the Washington Monument Association in 1847. He was appointed by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

as First Comptroller of the Treasury and served from May 31, 1849, to March 26, 1857, when he was removed by President James Buchanan. He was reappointed by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

April 10, 1861, and served until his death in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, January 7, 1863. He was interred in the Canfield Village Cemetery, Canfield, Ohio.

Family

He was an uncle of William Augustus Whittlesey and Charles Whittlesey, and a cousin of

Frederick Whittlesey Frederick Whittlesey (June 12, 1799 – September 19, 1851) was a U.S. Representative from New York, cousin of Elisha Whittlesey and Thomas Tucker Whittlesey. Born in New Preston, Connecticut, Whittlesey pursued academic studies. He graduate ...

and Thomas Tucker Whittlesey.

Notes

References

Retrieved on 2009-5-18 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittlesey, Elisha 1783 births 1863 deaths People from Washington, Connecticut Ohio Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Ohio National Republicans National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Anti-Masonic Party politicians from Ohio Anti-Masonic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Canfield, Ohio United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Comptrollers of the United States Treasury United States Army officers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople Litchfield Law School alumni