Churchill Caldom Cambreleng (October 24, 1786 – April 30, 1862) was an American businessman and politician from

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 * ...

. He is notable for his service 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 1821 to 1839, including terms as chairman of several high-profile committees. In addition, he served as U.S. Minister to Russia from 1840 to 1841.

Life

C. C. Cambreleng was born in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Beaufort County, North Carolina Beaufort County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 44,652. Its county seat is Washington, North Carolina, Washington. The co ...

on October 24, 1786, the son of Stephen Cambreleng and Ann (Patten) Cambreleng. He attended school in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, and moved to

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 ...

in 1802.

Early career

Intending to begin a career as a businessman, Cambreleng worked as a clerk in a mercantile counting room. In 1806 he moved to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where he was the chief clerk for a merchant with interests in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. After the death of his employer, Cambreleng intended to pursue a business opportunity in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, but was unable to remain there because of ongoing combat during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He then returned to New York City, where he was employed by

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

. Cambreleng traveled throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

while handling commercial opportunities for himself and Astor, and he eventually became wealthy as a result of his business success.

Congress

Cambreleng was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the 17th, and was re-elected as a Crawford Democratic-Republican to the 18th, as a Jacksonian to the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th, and as a Democrat to the

25th United States Congress The 25th 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, 18 ...

, holding office from December 3, 1821 to March 3, 1839. He was Chairman of the Commerce Committee (20th to 22nd Congresses),

Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign Affairs Committee may refer to: * Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development * Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade * Foreign Affairs Committee of t ...

(23rd Congress) and

Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

(24th and 25th Congresses). During the 22nd United States Congress, Cambreleng was critical of

Louis McLane Louis McLane (May 28, 1786 – October 7, 1857) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, a member of t ...

's report regarding the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Second Report on Public Credit, Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January ...

, writing "The Treasury report is as bad as it can possibly be—a new version of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

's reports on a National Bank and manufacturers, and totally unsuited to this age of democracy and reform."

Later career

Upon its incorporation in 1831, he became the first President of the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad. President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

appointed him United States Minister to Russia in 1840 and he served until 1841. He was a delegate from Suffolk County to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1846. He attended the

1848 Democratic National Convention The 1848 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from Monday May 22 to Friday May 26 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for President and Vice president i ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

as a Barnburner but withdrew with his faction, and participated in the nomination of Van Buren as the candidate of the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...

. Later he rejoined the Democrats and supported

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

for president in 1852.

Death and burial

Cambreleng died in West Neck,

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

on April 30, 1862. He was buried at

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

, Section 73, Lot 4150.

Family

In 1835, Cambreleng married Phebe Glover, the daughter of New York City merchant John J. Glover. They remained married until Cambreleng's death, and had no children.

References

Sources

Books

* * * * *

Internet

Magazines

External links

*
House Ways and Means Committee
at NC Gen Web {{DEFAULTSORT:Cambreleng, Churchill Caldom 1786 births 1862 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to the Russian Empire People from Washington, North Carolina New York (state) Democratic-Republicans Politicians from New York City 19th-century American railroad executives People from Huntington, New York New York (state) Free Soilers Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina 19th-century American diplomats Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives