Lorenzo De Medici Sweat (May 26, 1818 – July 26, 1898) was 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

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Early life and education

He was born in the town of Parsonsfield in the Massachusetts

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachu ...

, where he attended Parsonsfield Seminary, a

Free Will Baptist Free Will Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal est ...

school. Sweat attended Bowdoin College, from which he graduated in 1837, and studied law with Rufus McIntire. He attended Harvard Law School, and after graduating in 1840 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Marriage and family

Sweat returned to Maine and settled in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, where he continued to practice law. In 1849, he married novelist Margaret Jane Mussey and purchased a home adjoining author and critic, John Neal. The couple did not have children.

Political career

Sweat held various local offices including Portland City Solicitor from 1856 to 1860. He served as a member of the

Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

from 1861 to 1862. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1865. He voted against the Thirteenth Amendment. He was defeated for reelection in 1864, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to Congress in 1866. He later was a delegate to the Union National Convention held in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1868, and to the

1872 Democratic National Convention The 1872 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at Ford's Grand Opera House on East Fayette Street, between North Howard and North Eutaw Streets, in Baltimore, Maryland on July 9 and 10, 1872. It resulted in ...

. In 1872 he was selected as a member of the Democratic National Committee. He served until 1876 and received credit for helping Samuel J. Tilden receive that year's Democratic nomination for president. He was an honorary commissioner to the World's Exposition in Paris in 1867 and that in Vienna in 1873. His house in Portland, the

McLellan-Sweat Mansion The McLellan-Sweat Mansion (or The McLellan House) is a historic house museum on High Street in Portland, Maine. It forms the rear component of the Portland Museum of Art complex. Built in 1800–01, the house was designated a National Histori ...

, was later adapted for use as the

Portland Museum of Art The Portland Museum of Art, or PMA, is the largest and oldest public art institution in the U.S. state of Maine. Founded as the Portland Society of Art in 1882. It is located in the downtown area known as The Arts District in Portland, Maine. ...

, following a bequest by his wife. Today it is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. His body is interred in Evergreen Cemetery in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweat 1818 births 1898 deaths People of Maine in the American Civil War Bowdoin College alumni Harvard Law School alumni People from Parsonsfield, Maine Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Portland, Maine) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Democratic Party Maine state senators 19th-century American politicians