Ben C. Eastman (October 24, 1812 – February 2, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who represented
Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district
Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...
in the
United States 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 the ...
in the
Thirty-second and
Thirty-third Congresses.
Biography
Born in
Strong in Massachusetts'
District of Maine
The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massach ...
, Eastman attended the
public schools
Public school may refer to:
*State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
*Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...
. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and practiced in
Green Bay,
Wisconsin Territory
The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...
. He moved to
Platteville, the same year and continued the practice of law and then served as secretary of the legislative council of Wisconsin Territory 1843–1846. He served one term on the Board of Supervisors of
Grant County Grant County may refer to:
Places
;Australia
* County of Grant, Victoria
;United States
*Grant County, Arkansas
*Grant County, Indiana
*Grant County, Kansas
*Grant County, Kentucky
*Grant County, Minnesota
*Grant County, Nebraska
*Grant Co ...
.
In 1850, Eastman ran for Congress on the
Democratic
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 ...
ticket in the 2nd District, which, in 1850, covered a wide swath of western Wisconsin. He defeated Whig incumbent
Orsamus Cole, and went on to serve in the thirty-second Congress. He was re-elected in 1852. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1854, and resumed the practice of law.
He died in Platteville on February 2, 1856 after an illness of several weeks,
[ ] He was interred in
Forest Hill Cemetery in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin b ...
.
Sources
1812 births
1856 deaths
People from Strong, Maine
People from Platteville, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Territory officials
District attorneys in Wisconsin
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
19th-century American legislators
Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Madison, Wisconsin)
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