Simon Barclay Conover (September 23, 1840April 19, 1908) was an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and politician who served as a delegate to Florida's 1868 Constitutional Convention, state treasurer, state legislator, and U.S. Senator from Florida. He served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

including as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. He was a Republican.

Biography

Born in

Middlesex County, New Jersey Middlesex County is a County (United States), county located in the North Jersey, north-Central Jersey, central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, extending inland from the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the ...

, Conover attended an academy in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and graduated from the medical department of the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

in 1864. During the

United States Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded ...

he served in the medical department of the Union Army. He was appointed acting assistant surgeon in 1866, and was assigned to

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistica ...

. He resigned from the medical department of the army upon readmission of the State of Florida into the Union. Conover was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1868. He was appointed State

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

in 1868, serving one term. He was also a member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from 1868 to 1872. He was a member of the

in 1873 and served as speaker. Conover was elected 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 ...

and served from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1879. There he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills. After his time in Congress, Conover resumed the practice of medicine. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor in 1880, a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1885, and was appointed United States surgeon at

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

, in 1889. He became president of the board of regents of the Agricultural College and School of Science of the State of Washington in 1891. He practiced medicine in Port Townsend until his death, and was interred there in the Masonic Cemetery.

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-29

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conover, Simon Barclay 1840 births 1908 deaths Union army surgeons Republican Party United States senators from Florida State treasurers of Florida Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Florida Legislature