Henry Donnel Foster (December 19, 1808 – October 16, 1880) was a
Democratic 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 ...
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, ...
.
Biography
Henry D. Foster (cousin of
John Cabell Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
) was born in
Mercer, Pennsylvania
Mercer is a borough in and the county seat of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,982 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area.
The community was named after Brigadier General Hu ...
. He pursued classical studies, and graduated from the
College of Meadville. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1829 and commenced practice in
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...
.
Foster was elected as a Democrat to the
Twenty-eighth and
Twenty-ninth Congresses. He served as a member of the
Pennsylvania State 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 ...
in 1857 and 1858. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to Congress in
1858. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
in 1860. He unsuccessfully contested the election of
John Covode
John Covode (March 17, 1808 – January 11, 1871) was an American businessman and abolitionist politician. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
Early life
Covode was born in Fairfield Towns ...
to the
Forty-first Congress. Foster was again elected to the
Forty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in
1872
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years.
* February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...
. He resumed the practice of law in Greensburg. He moved to
Irwin, Pennsylvania
Irwin is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Some of the most extensive bituminous coal deposits in the State are located here. In the past, iron foundries, flour mills, car shops, facing and planing mills, e ...
, in 1879 and died there in 1880. Interment in St. Clair Cemetery in Greensburg.
Sources
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Henry D.
1808 births
1880 deaths
People from Mercer, Pennsylvania
Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania lawyers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers