Benjamin F. Whittemore
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Franklin Whittemore (May 18, 1824 - January 25, 1894) was a U.S. Representative
from South Carolina
.
, Whittemore attended the public schools of Worcester, and received an academic education at Amherst College
.
He engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1859. After studying theology, he became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church
of the New England Conference in 1859.
, Whittemore served as chaplain
of the Fifty-third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and later with the Thirtieth Regiment, Veteran Volunteers. After the war was over, he settled in Darlington, South Carolina
. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867 and was elected president of the Republican State executive board in 1867.
He founded the New Era in Darlington. He served as member of the State senate in 1868 and as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868. Upon the readmission of South Carolina to the Union, Whittemore was elected as a Republican
to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses and served from July 18, 1868, to February 24, 1870. He resigned, pending the investigation of his conduct in connection with certain appointments to the United States Military and Naval academies. He was censured by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1870, following his resignation.
He presented credentials of a second election to the same Congress on June 18, 1870, but the House declined to allow him to take his seat.
During increasing violence by Red Shirts, paramilitary
insurgents who worked to suppress black voting, in 1877 Whittemore was elected to the State senate. He later resigned. Democrats
had regained power in the state legislature and began to pass laws to restrict voter registration and reduce the civil rights of freedmen.
Whittemore returned to Massachusetts, settling in Woburn where he became a publisher.
He died in Montvale, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1894. He was interred in the Salem Street Cemetery, Woburnd
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Biography
Born in Malden, MassachusettsMalden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
, Whittemore attended the public schools of Worcester, and received an academic education at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
.
He engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1859. After studying theology, he became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
of the New England Conference in 1859.
Career
During the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Whittemore served as chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of the Fifty-third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and later with the Thirtieth Regiment, Veteran Volunteers. After the war was over, he settled in Darlington, South Carolina
Darlington, South Carolina
Darlington is a city in and the county seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a center for tobacco farming. The population was 6,720 at the 2000 census and is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867 and was elected president of the Republican State executive board in 1867.
He founded the New Era in Darlington. He served as member of the State senate in 1868 and as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868. Upon the readmission of South Carolina to the Union, Whittemore was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses and served from July 18, 1868, to February 24, 1870. He resigned, pending the investigation of his conduct in connection with certain appointments to the United States Military and Naval academies. He was censured by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1870, following his resignation.
He presented credentials of a second election to the same Congress on June 18, 1870, but the House declined to allow him to take his seat.
During increasing violence by Red Shirts, paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
insurgents who worked to suppress black voting, in 1877 Whittemore was elected to the State senate. He later resigned. Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
had regained power in the state legislature and began to pass laws to restrict voter registration and reduce the civil rights of freedmen.
Whittemore returned to Massachusetts, settling in Woburn where he became a publisher.
He died in Montvale, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1894. He was interred in the Salem Street Cemetery, Woburnd
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...
.