Fernando Cortez Beaman (June 28, 1814 – September 27, 1882) was a teacher, lawyer and politician from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

during and after 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 ...

. He served as a member of 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 ...

and as mayor of

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 5th congressional district. The c ...

Early life

Beaman was born in

Chester, Vermont Chester is a New England town, town in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The town was originally chartered by New Hampshire Governor Be ...

, the son of Joshua Beaman and Hannah (Olcott) Beaman. He moved with his parents to a farm in

Franklin County, New York Franklin County is a County (United States), county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. To the north across the Canada–United States border are the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, from east to ...

, in 1819, and attended the district schools and Franklin Academy in

Malone, New York Malone is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 12,433 at the 2020 census. The town contains a village also named Malone. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part of the county. History ...

. He taught school and moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, in 1836, where he studied law.

Career

He moved to

Manchester, Michigan Manchester is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,037 at the 2020 census. The city is located within Manchester Township. Settled as early as 1833, Manchester incorporated as a village in 1867. On N ...

, in 1838, where he was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

and commenced practice in 1839. In 1841, he moved to

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

to practice law, then moved to

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

. In 1843, he moved to

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

, having been appointed

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

for Lenawee County. He served in that position until 1850. In Adrian, he formed a law practice with

Thomas M. Cooley Thomas McIntyre Cooley (January 6, 1824 – September 12, 1898) was an American judge. He was the 25th Justice and a Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, between 1864 and 1885. He was the father of sociologist Charles Cooley. He was a ch ...

, future Chief Justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

. He was the city attorney of Adrian and a member of the convention that organized the Republican Party "under the oaks" at

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

in 1854. He was a delegate to the first

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1856, and was also mayor of Adrian in 1856 and judge of the

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

of Lenawee County from 1856 to 1860. Beaman was elected as a Republican candidate from

Michigan's 2nd congressional district Michigan's 2nd congressional district is a United States congressional district in Western Michigan. The current 2nd district contains much of Michigan's 4th congressional district, Michigan's old 4th congressional district, and includes all of ...

to the

for the Thirty-seventh and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1871. Due to redistricting after the 1860 census, Beaman represented

Michigan's 1st congressional district Michigan's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district that fully contains the 15 counties of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and 20 counties of Northern Michigan in the Lower Peninsula. The district is currently represen ...

following the elections of 1862. During the Thirty-ninth Congress, he was chairman of the House Committee on Roads and Canals. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1870 and returned to Adrian where he resumed the practice of law. Beaman was again appointed a judge of probate court of Lenawee County in 1871, and was then elected to the same position in 1872, and re-elected in 1876. Due to ill health, Beaman declined appointment as

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Zachariah Chandler Zachariah Chandler (December 10, 1813 – November 1, 1879) was an American businessman, politician, and one of the founders of the Republican Party, whose radical wing he dominated as a lifelong abolitionist. He was mayor of Detroit, a four-ter ...

in 1879. He also declined appointments to the

and as United States

Commissioner of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. He died in Adrian on September 27, 1882, and is interred in Oakwood Cemetery there.

Personal life

Beaman married Mary Goodrich on May 10, 1841, in

Brockport, New York Brockport is a village (New York), village in Monroe County, New York, United States. Most of the village is within the town of Sweden, New York, Sweden, with two small portions in the town of Clarkson, New York, Clarkson. The population was 7,1 ...

. They had three children: Mary A. Beaman, Edward C. Beaman, and Roscoe W. Beaman. Note that Google Books misspells "Portraits" in the title.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaman, Fernando 1814 births 1882 deaths People from Chester, Vermont Politicians from Windsor County, Vermont American people of English descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Mayors of Adrian, Michigan Michigan state court judges People from Manchester, Michigan People of Michigan in the American Civil War 19th-century Michigan state court judges 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives