Charles C. Stratton
Charles Creighton Stratton | |
---|---|
15th Governor of New Jersey | |
In office January 21, 1845 – January 18, 1848 | |
Preceded by | Daniel Haines |
Succeeded by | Daniel Haines |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's At-large district | |
In office March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | |
Preceded by | Ferdinand S. Schenck |
Succeeded by | Daniel B. Ryall |
In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843 | |
Preceded by | Daniel B. Ryall |
Succeeded by | District eliminated |
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly | |
In office 1821 1823 1829 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Swedesboro, New Jersey | March 6, 1796
Died | March 30, 1859 Swedesboro, New Jersey | (aged 63)
Political party | Whig |
Spouse | Sarah Taggart |
Education | Rutgers College |
Charles Creighton Stratton (March 6, 1796 – March 30, 1859) was a politician from New Jersey, who served in the United States House of Representatives and was later the 15th Governor of New Jersey.
Biography
He was born, and died, in Swedesboro, in Gloucester County, New Jersey.[1] He is interred at Trinity Church Cemetery in Swedesboro.[2]
He graduated from Rutgers College in 1814, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1821, 1823, and again in 1829. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth United States Congress (1837–1839); presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Twenty-sixth Congress, but the House declined to seat him ; reelected to the Twenty-seventh United States Congress (1841–1843). He chose not to run again in 1842. Stratton served as a member of the 1844 Constitutional convention (political meeting) that created a revised New Jersey State Constitution.[1]
The new 1844 New Jersey State Constitution provided for direct election of a governor for a single three-year term. Stratton ran on the Whig ticket, and campaigned on a platform opposing the powerful railroad interests of the state. The Democratic candidate was Pennsylvania-born John R. Thomson, who was a stockholder in the railroad and a vigorous advocate of internal improvements.[3]
Stratton won, and served as governor from January 21, 1845, to January 17, 1848. After his term he resumed agricultural pursuits. He married Sarah Taggart of Philadelphia in 1854. Because of ill health, he resided in Europe in 1857 and 1858.
Although he had no children, he had two notable nephews. Benjamin Franklin Howey was a Republican member of the Forty-eighth United States Congress (1883–1885) from the 4th Congressional District. Another nephew, Thomas Preston Carpenter, served as an Associate Justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
His home in Woolwich Township, New Jersey, the Gov. Charles C. Stratton House, was built in 1791 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 29, 1973.[4]
References
- ^ a b "STRATTON, Charles Creighton, (1796 - 1859)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ^ Find-A-Grave info for Charles C. Stratton Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ HarpWeek | American Political Prints 1766–1876 | Medium Image Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Gloucester County Archived October 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, October 27, 2015. Accessed November 8, 2015.
External links
- United States Congress. "Charles C. Stratton (id: S000993)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Biographical information of Charles C. Stratton[permanent dead link], New Jersey State Library – document is damaged as of July 6, 2006.
- New Jersey Governor Charles Creighton Stratton, National Governors Association
- 1796 births
- 1859 deaths
- People from Swedesboro, New Jersey
- People from Woolwich Township, New Jersey
- American Episcopalians
- New Jersey Whigs
- Governors of New Jersey
- Members of the New Jersey General Assembly
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey
- Burials in New Jersey
- Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- 19th-century American politicians
- Whig Party state governors of the United States
- Rutgers University alumni