Edward Kavanagh (April 27, 1795 – January 22, 1844) was 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 the 17th

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

. Born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

in the Massachusetts

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immigrants from

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. He later attended Montreal Seminary (in

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) and

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

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. He graduated from St. Mary's College (

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) in 1813. He studied law, was admitted to the

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and commenced practice in

Damariscotta, Maine Damariscotta (/ dæmrɪˈskɒtə/ ) is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,297 at the 2020 census. Damariscotta is the oyster capital of New England. A popular tourist destination, the towns of Damariscotta and ...

. He was a member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

from 1826 to 1828, and was secretary of the state senate in 1830. Kavanagh's public career began with a plea to the framers of the

Maine Constitution The Constitution of the State of Maine established the "State of Maine" in 1820 and is the fundamental governing document of the state. It consists of a Preamble and ten Articles (divisions), the first of which is a "Declaration of Rights". Th ...

to include an article for official religious toleration. His first elected role was on the school committee, followed by roles as selectman, state representative, and state senator. In 1829 the legislature elected him as secretary of state. Kavanagh was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1835. He was nationally noticed as the first

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elected from New England. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress, and was appointed Chargé d'Affaires to Portugal on March 3, 1835, and served until his resignation in June 1841. He was one of the four Maine commissioners on the northeastern boundary in 1842 in the negotiations that led to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, and was a member of the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

in 1842 and 1843 and served as the

president of the Maine Senate The position of President of the Maine Senate was created when Maine separated from Massachusetts and achieved statehood in 1820. The Maine Legislature had one year terms until 1880, when an amendment to the Maine Constitution took effect to pr ...

Governor of Maine

Kavanagh became Governor of Maine upon the election of Governor Fairfield on March 7, 1843, to replace U.S. Senator

Reuel Williams Reuel Williams (June 2, 1783July 25, 1862) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Senator from Maine from 1837 to 1843. Early life and career Born in Hallowell, Massachusetts to Seth Williams and Zilpha Ingraham, ...

upon William's resignation, and served until the end of the term in 1844. Less than four weeks later, Kavanagh died in Newcastle; interment was in St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, Damariscotta Mills. Kavanagh's

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in Newcastle has been listed on the

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Electoral history

References

External links

*
Edward Kavanagh biography
at ''National Governors Association'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Edward 1795 births 1844 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives 19th-century American diplomats Presidents of the Maine Senate Democratic Party Maine state senators Democratic Party governors of Maine People from Damariscotta, Maine St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni Maine Democratic-Republicans Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine People from Newcastle, Maine Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature