Richard Brodhead (January 5, 1811September 16, 1863) was an American lawyer and politician from

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

. He represented

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, ...

in both the

U.S. House 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 ...

(1843 to 1849) and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(1851 to 1857). He was the father of U.S. Representative Jefferson Davis Brodhead, who also represented Pennsylvania.

Biography

Richard Brodhead was born in Lehman Township, Pennsylvania, the son of Hannah (Drake) and Richard Brodhead, Sr. Brodhead moved to

in 1830. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1836 and commenced practice in Easton. He was 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 ...

from 1837 to 1839. He was appointed treasurer of

Northampton County, Pennsylvania Northampton County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,951. Its county seat is Easton. The county was formed in 1752 from parts of Bucks County. Its namesake was Northamptonshire, En ...

in 1841. His wife was Mary Jane Davis Bradford, a niece of Jefferson Davis of Mississippi.

Political career

Brodhead was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses. He served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions The United States House Committee on Revolutionary Pensions was a U.S. House committee, established on January 10, 1831, that superseded the defunct Committee on Military Pensions to assume jurisdiction over issues related to pensions for service ...

during the Twenty-ninth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1848. Brodhead was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

as a Democrat to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. He served as chairman of the

United States Senate Committee on Claims The United States Senate Committee on Claims was among the first standing committees established in the Senate. It dealt generally with issues related to private bills and petitions. After reforms in the 1880s that created judicial and administra ...

during the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses. and the

United States Senate Committee on Revolutionary Claims United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

during Thirty-second Congress. He died in Easton in 1863. Interment in

Easton Cemetery Easton Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Easton, Pennsylvania and the burial site of many notable individuals. ''Note:'' This includes The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Easton Cemetery's ...

Legacy

He was the most recent resident of the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

area to serve as United States Senator from Pennsylvania until the election of incumbent

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representat ...

in 2010.

References

''Commemorative Biographical Record of Northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe'' (Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1900), 80–1; ''Papers of Jefferson Davis'' 1:520-1; 1:279, n20.

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodhead, Richard 1811 births 1863 deaths Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Politicians from Easton, Pennsylvania Democratic Party United States senators from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers