Samuel Augustus Bridges (January 27, 1802 – January 14, 1884) was a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives 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 ...

from

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, ...

. Samuel A. Bridges was born in

Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...

. He pursued an academic course, and was graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

, in 1826. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1829 and commenced practice in

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 ...

. He moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1830, where he continued the practice of law. He served as town clerk from 1837 to 1842, and deputy attorney general of the State for

Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Lehigh County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Lechaa Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557.

, from 1837 to 1844. He was a delegate to the Democratic State convention in 1841. Bridges was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John W. Hornbeck. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

. He was again elected to the Thirty-third Congress, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The ...

. He resumed the practice of law, and was again elected to the Forty-fifth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Bat ...

. He continued the practice of law in Allentown where he died in 1884. Interment in Union Cemetery.

Sources

The Political Graveyard
1802 births 1884 deaths Politicians from Allentown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American legislators Williams College alumni 19th-century American lawyers {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub