David Safford Walbridge (July 30, 1802 – June 15, 1868) was a politician from the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Walbridge was born in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...

, where he attended the common schools. He moved to New York in 1820 and engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits at Geneseo from 1820 to 1826 and at Jamestown from 1826 to 1842. Then he moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1842 and again engaged in mercantile pursuits as well as becoming a large landowner and stock raiser. Walbridge was a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U ...

in 1848 and served from 1849 to 1850 in the Michigan Senate. He served as permanent chairman of the first Republican State convention held July 6, 1854, at Jackson, Michigan. In 1854, he defeated incumbent

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 ...

Samuel Clark to be elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from

Michigan's 3rd congressional district Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in West Michigan. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of the counties of Barry and Ionia, as well as all except the northwestern portion of Kent, including the city of Grand Ra ...

to the 34th United States Congress. He was re-elected to the 35th Congress, serving from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1859. On August 27, 1856,

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

visited Kalamazoo to take part in a campaign rally for John C. Fremont. Congress was in session, so Walbridge was in Washington, D.C. In his absence, his wife Eliza Taggart Walbridge, acted as a hostess, providing tea for Lincoln and

Zachariah Chandler Zachariah Chandler (December 10, 1813 – November 1, 1879) was an American businessman, politician, one of the founders of the Republican Party, whose radical wing he dominated as a lifelong abolitionist. He was mayor of Detroit, a four-term sena ...

. This was recalled by Lincoln in a letter he wrote to Chandler four years later. David S. Walbridge later resumed his former pursuits and was also appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Andrew Johnson to serve as postmaster of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He died there and was interred in Mountain Home Cemetery.

References

David S. Walbridge
at The Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Walbridge, David Safford 1802 births 1868 deaths 19th-century American politicians Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan postmasters Republican Party Michigan state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan