Lewis Riggs (January 16, 1789 – November 6, 1870) was an American physician and politician who served one term as a

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

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from 1841 to 1843.

Biography

Born in

Norfolk, Connecticut Norfolk () is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Norfolk census-designated place, with a population of 553 at the 2010 census. Norfolk is per ...

, Riggs attended the common schools and schools of Latin and Greek. He was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade. He studied medicine in the village of

Torringford, Connecticut The Torringford Street Historic District is a historic district on the east side of the city of Torrington, Connecticut. The district includes properties along Torringford Street ( Route 183), the main thoroughfare of the Torringford section o ...

, and received his diploma in May 1812. He also attended medical lectures given by Benjamin Rush at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

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, in 1812. Practiced in East Winsted, Connecticut. He moved to

Vernon, New York Vernon is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 5,408 at the 2010 census. The Town of Vernon is on the western border of the county. The town contains a village, also named Vernon. History The first European se ...

, in 1813 and later to Homer, New York, continuously practicing his profession.

Political career

He also engaged in business as a retail druggist and in 1828 in the sale of dry goods. He served as secretary of the Cortland County Medical Society 1820–1823 and as president in 1825 and 1826. He was appointed postmaster of Homer by President Jackson on April 25, 1829, and served until August 7, 1839.

Congress

He was elected as a

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to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843).

Later career and death

He resumed the practice of medicine. Also operated a flour mill. He died in Homer, New York, November 6, 1870. He was interred in Glenwood Cemetery.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Lewis 1789 births 1870 deaths New York (state) postmasters Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians People from Norfolk, Connecticut