- Edward Kavanagh
Edward Kavanagh (
April 27 ,1795 -January 22 ,1844 ) was aUnited States Representative andGovernor of Maine . Born inNewcastle, Maine , he attendedMontreal Seminary (inQuebec, Canada ) and Georgetown College, (Georgetown, D.C.) He graduated fromSt. Mary's College (Baltimore ) in 1813. [CathEncy|wstitle=Edward Kavanagh] He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice inDamariscotta, Maine . He was a member of theMaine House of Representatives from 1826 to 1828, and was secretary of the State senate in 1830. [CongBio|K000022|inline=1]Kavanagh's public career began with a plea to the framers of the Maine constitution to include an article for official religious toleration. His first elected role was on the school committee, followed by roles as selectman, state representative, and state senator. In 1829 the legislature elected him as Secretary of State.
Kavanagh was elected as a
Jacksonian to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses, serving asMarch 4 ,1831 toMarch 3 ,1835 . He was nationally noticed as the first Catholic elected from New England. [cite book |last=Rolde |first=Neal |title=Maine: A Narrative History |year=1990 |publisher=Harpswell Press |location=Gardiner, ME |id=ISBN 0-88448-069-0 |pages=172-173 ] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress, and was appointedChargé d'Affaires to Portugal onMarch 3 ,1835 , and served until his resignation in June 1841. He was one of the four Maine commissioners on the northeastern boundary in 1842 in the negotiations that led to theWebster-Ashburton Treaty , and was a member of theMaine Senate in 1842 and 1843 and served as president of that body. He became Governor of Maine upon the election of Governor Fairfield onMarch 7 ,1843 to replace U.S. SenatorReul Williams upon William's resignation, and served until the end of the term in 1844. Less than four weeks later, Kavanagh died in Newcastle; interment was in St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, Damariscotta Mills.References
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