Biography
Born in Newark, New Jersey, July 2, 1810, he attended the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, from 1826 to 1828. He went on to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1833, and commenced practice in Newark, New Jersey, Newark. He was elected a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1837 and 1838. He served as alderman of Newark from 1837 to 1840. Pennington was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress and reelected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress, serving in Congress from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1857. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Thirty-fourth Congress. After leaving the Congress, he moved to New York City, where he died January 25, 1867.Family
He was a grand nephew of 6th Governor of New Jersey William Sandford Pennington, and a cousin of 13th New Jersey Governor and 27th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives William Pennington. His son, Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington, Jr., was a brigadier general in the United States Army and veteran of both the American Civil War and Spanish–American War.Further reading
* Pennington, Alexander Cummings Macwhorter. Election of speaker. [Washington: Printed at the office of the Congressional Globe, 1856]. * ———. [Speech of] Hon. A. C. M. Pennington, of New Jersey, on the assault by Mr. Brooks on Mr. Sumner. Delivered in the House of Representatives, July 10, 1856. Washington: Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, 1856.External links
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