Elbridge Gerry Lapham (October 18, 1814January 8, 1890) was a Republican politician who represented New York in both the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875-1881 and the United States Senate from 1881–1885.
Life
Lapham attended the public schools and the Canandaigua Academy. He studied civil engineering and law and was admitted to the bar in 1844 and practiced in
Canandaigua, New York.
He was a delegate to the
New York State Constitutional Convention of 1867-68. He was elected as a
Republican to the
44th,
45th,
46th and
47th United States Congress
The 47th 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, 1881, ...
es, holding office from March 4, 1875, to July 29, 1881, when he resigned after his election to the U.S. Senate. He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1876 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against ex-U.S. Secretary of War
William W. Belknap.
He
was elected as a Republican to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on July 22, 1881, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Se ...
and served to March 4, 1885. He was not a candidate for re-election. He was Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Fish and Fisheries (
48th Congress).
Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in Canandaigua. He died at “Glen Gerry,” on Canandaigua Lake, on January 8, 1890, and was buried at the
Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua.
Personal life
Lapham is the son of Judge John Lapham (1793–1860) and his wife, Zimroda Smith Lapham (1793–1879). He is a descendant of John Lapham (1677–1734) and his wife, Mary Russell Lapham (1683–1752). His cousins include
Nathan Lapham,
Christopher Lloyd and
Susan B. Anthony.
On July 2, 1844, in
Clifton Springs, New York, he married Jane Frances McBride (1825–1907). They had at least eight children:
# Charlotte Lapham (1845-1910)
# Ellen Frances Lapham (1850-1926)
# Benjamin Franklin Lapham (1852-1907)
# Charles Barnard Lapham (1854-1901)
# Henry Wager Lapham (1857-1938)
# Joanna Louise Lapham (1860-1860)
# John R. Lapham (1862-1888)
# Elbridge Gerry Lapham Jr. (1866-1921)
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapham, Elbridge Gerry
Elbridge Gerry Lapham
1814 births
1890 deaths
Politicians from Canandaigua, New York
People from Farmington, New York
Republican Party United States senators from New York (state)
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
19th-century New York (state) politicians
19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
19th-century United States senators