Aaron Harrison Cragin (February 3, 1821May 10, 1898) was an American politician and a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Early life

Born in

Weston, Vermont Weston is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 623 at the 2020 census. Home to the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, it includes the villages of Weston and The Island. History Weston was originally the western ...

, Cragin completed preparatory studies, studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1847 and commenced practice in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Career

Cragin was a member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

from 1852 to 1855. Elected by the American Party to the

Thirty-fourth Congress The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, ...

and as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress, Cragin served from (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859). While in the House of Representatives, he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Thirty-fourth Congress). Cragin resumed the practice of law and in 1859 was again a member of the State house of representatives. In 1860 he was a delegate to the Republican Convention in Chicago, and a delegate to the Philadelphia loyalists convention in 1866. He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1864; was reelected in 1870, and served from March 4, 1865, to March 3, 1877. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills (Thirty-ninth Congress) and a member of the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expense (Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses), the Committee on Naval Affairs (Forty-first and Forty-third Congresses), and the Committee on Railroads (Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses). Appointed by President

Rutherford Hayes Rutherford may refer to: Places Australia * Rutherford, New South Wales, a suburb of Maitland * Rutherford (Parish), New South Wales, a civil parish of Yungnulgra County Canada * Mount Rutherford, Jasper National Park * Rutherford, Edmon ...

as one of the commissioners for the purchase of the Hot Springs Reservation in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Cragin served as chairman from 1877 to 1879.

Death

Cragin died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on May 10, 1898 (age 77 years, 96 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at School Street Cemetery, Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Family life

Son of Aaron and Sarah Whitney, Cragin married Isabella Tuller and they had a son, Harry Wilton Cragin, who graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and was appointed third assistant in the

United States Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Ale ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cragin, Aaron 1821 births 1898 deaths People from Weston, Vermont American people of Scottish descent Know-Nothing members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire Republican Party United States senators from New Hampshire New Hampshire Know Nothings Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Activists from Vermont Activists from New Hampshire 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court 19th-century United States senators