Benjamin Franklin Hopkins (April 22, 1829 – January 1, 1870) was an American politician and telegraph operator. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives for the last three years of his life from 1867 to 1870.
Benjamin F. Hopkins | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1867 – January 1, 1870 | |
| Preceded by | Ithamar Sloan |
| Succeeded by | David Atwood |
| Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 26th district | |
| In office January 1, 1862 – January 1, 1864 | |
| Preceded by | John B. Sweat |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Hood |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 5th district | |
| In office January 1, 1866 – January 1, 1867 | |
| Preceded by | James Ross |
| Succeeded by | Eleazer Wakeley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Franklin Hopkins April 22, 1829 Granville, New York |
| Died | January 1, 1870 (aged 40) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Republican |
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Earlier he had served one term each in the Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly, and had worked as a private secretary to Wisconsin Governor Coles Bashford.
Biography
editBorn in Granville, New York,[1][2] Hopkins attended the common schools as a child and later became a telegraph operator.[2]
Early political career
editHe moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and then to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1849,[2] and served as a private secretary to Governor Coles Bashford in 1856 and 1857.[1] He was exonerated of involvement in the Bashford railroad scandal in 1860.[2] He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate in 1862 and 1863 and served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1866.
Congress
editHopkins was elected a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1866 as part of the 40th United States Congress, representing Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district. He was reelected to the 41st Congress and served from 1867 until his death. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds from 1869 to 1870.
Death and burial
editHe died in Madison, Wisconsin, on January 1, 1870, following an attack of paralysis.[1][2] He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin.
His death created a vacancy in congress that was filled by David Atwood for the remainder of the 41st Congress.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "The Death of Hon. B. F. Hopkins—What Is Said by the Press Elsewhere". Wisconsin State Journal. January 4, 1870. p. 1. Retrieved August 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "The Late B. F. Hopkins". Wisconsin State Journal. January 10, 1870. p. 2. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- United States Congress. "Benjamin F. Hopkins (id: H000771)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Benjamin F. Hopkins at Find a Grave
- Atwood, David (1872). Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Atwood & Culver. pp. 71–86. Retrieved June 1, 2015.