Benjamin Franklin Whittemore

Benjamin Franklin Whittemore
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st district
In office July 18, 1868 – February 24, 1870
Preceded by	John McQueen (1860)
Succeeded by	Joseph H. Rainey
Member of the South Carolina Senate from Darlington County
In office November 22, 1870 – June 9, 1877
Preceded by	John Lunney
Succeeded by	William Caleb Coker
Personal details
Born	May 18, 1824 Malden, Massachusetts
Died	January 25, 1894 (aged 69) Montvale, Massachusetts
Resting place	Woburn, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Amherst College
Profession	minister, politician, publisher
Religion	Methodist
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Chaplain

Benjamin Franklin Whittemore (May 18, 1824 – January 25, 1894) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina.

Biography

Born in Malden, Massachusetts, Whittemore attended the public schools of Worcester, and received an academic education at Amherst College.

He engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1859. After studying theology, he became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church of the New England Conference in 1859.

Career

During the Civil War, Whittemore served as chaplain of the Fifty-third Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and later with the Thirtieth Regiment, Veteran Volunteers. After the war was over, he settled in Darlington, South Carolina. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867 and was elected president of the Republican State executive board in 1867.

He founded the New Era in Darlington. He was elected to the State senate in 1868, but resigned before the session to take a seat in Congress. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1868. Upon the readmission of South Carolina to the Union, Whittemore was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses and served from July 18, 1868, to February 24, 1870. He resigned, pending the investigation of his conduct in connection with certain appointments to the United States Military and Naval academies. He was censured by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1870, following his resignation.

He presented credentials of a second election to the same Congress on June 18, 1870, but the House declined to allow him to take his seat.

During increasing violence by Red Shirts, paramilitary insurgents who worked to suppress black voting, in 1870 Whittemore was elected to the State senate. He served until 1877, when he resigned. Democrats had regained power in the state legislature and began to pass laws to restrict voter registration and reduce the civil rights of freedmen.

Whittemore returned to Massachusetts, settling in Woburn where he became a publisher.

He died in Montvale, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1894. He was interred in the Salem Street Cemetery, Woburn.

References

• United States Congress. "Benjamin Franklin Whittemore (id: W000427)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-11-04.

Shepard, Christopher. "The Carpetbagging Congressman: The Corruption Case of Benjamin Whittemore." Carologue. 32 no. 2 (Fall 2016): 18-23.