Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington, Sr. (July 2, 1810,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

– January 25, 1867,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) was an American Whig Party /

Opposition Party In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

politician who represented in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

from 1853 to 1857.

Biography

Born in

, July 2, 1810, he attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

, from 1826 to 1828. He went on to study law, was admitted to the bar in 1833, and commenced practice in Newark. He was elected a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1837 and 1838. He served as alderman of Newark from 1837 to 1840. Pennington was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress and reelected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress, serving in Congress from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1857. He served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Thirty-fourth Congress. After leaving the Congress, he moved to New York City, where he died January 25, 1867.

Family

He was a grand nephew of 6th

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

William Sandford Pennington, and a cousin of 13th New Jersey Governor and 27th Speaker of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

William Pennington William Pennington (May 4, 1796 – February 16, 1862) was an American politician and lawyer. He was the 13th governor of New Jersey from 1837 to 1843. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, during which he served as ...

. His son, Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington, Jr., was a brigadier general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and veteran of both the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

External links

* *
Alexander Cumming McWhorter Pennington
at

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, Alexander Cummings Mcwhorter 1810 births 1867 deaths Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey New Jersey Oppositionists Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly United States Military Academy alumni Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey 19th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Newark, New Jersey 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature

Biography

Family

Further reading

External links