Benjamin Thomas BIGGS, Congress, DE (1821-1893)

BIGGS Benjamin Thomas , a Representative from Delaware; born near Summit Bridge, New Castle County, Del., October 1, 1821; attended the public schools and Pennington Seminary in New Jersey; taught school for a short time and later attended the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.; engaged in agricultural pursuits; member of the State constitutional convention in 1853; became interested in railroad operations and was a director of the Kent & Queen Annes Railroad; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1860 to the Thirty-seventh Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-first and Forty-second Congresses (March 4, 1869-March 3, 1873); was not a candidate for renomination in 1872; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1872; elected Governor of Delaware and served from January 1887 to January 1891; died in Middletown, New Castle County, Del., December 25, 1893; interment in Bethel Cemetery, near Chesapeake City, Cecil County, Md.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present