Charles William Cathcart (July 24, 1809 – August 22, 1888) was a

United States 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 ...

and Senator from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Biography

He was born in

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...

, Madeira Island, Portugal where his father,

James Leander Cathcart James Leander Cathcart (1 June 1767 – 6 October 1843) was an Irish-American diplomat, slave, and sailor. He is notable for his narrative as a slave in Algiers for eleven years. Revolutionary War Cathcart was born in Mount Murragh, County West ...

was the United States

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

; he travelled to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

with his parents, attended private schools, and returned to the United States in 1819 and went to sea. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1830, and was a clerk in the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

. He moved to Indiana and was justice of the peace at New Durham Township in 1833. He engaged in agricultural pursuits near La Porte in 1837, was a United States land surveyor, and was a member of the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year term ...

from 1837 to 1840. Cathcart 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 Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1849; he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

James Whitcomb James Whitcomb (December 1, 1795 – October 4, 1852) was a Democratic United States senator and the eighth governor of Indiana. As governor during the Mexican–American War, he oversaw the formation and deployment of the state's levies. He l ...

and served from December 6, 1852, to January 18, 1853. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1860 to the Thirty-seventh Congress and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died on his farm near La Porte in 1888; interment was in Pine Lake Cemetery.

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* 1809 births 1888 deaths People from Funchal American people of Irish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Democratic Party United States senators from Indiana People from La Porte, Indiana American surveyors Clerks 19th-century American politicians {{Madeira-stub