Charles Bingham Penrose (October 6, 1798 – April 6, 1857) was an American politician who served as a Democratic-Republican and Whig member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 16th and 14th district from 1833 to 1841 and as a Republican member for the 1st district in 1857. He served as Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1838 to 1839 and again in 1841. He was a key figure during the Buckshot War unrest in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, after the 1838 legislative election, when both Whigs and Democrats claimed control over the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Charles B. Penrose | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district | |
| In office 1857–1857 | |
| 1st Assistant Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office March 12, 1849 – October 9, 1849 | |
| President | Zachary Taylor |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Allen A. Hall |
| 4th Solicitor of the United States Treasury | |
| In office March 17, 1841 – March 4, 1845 | |
| President | William Henry Harrison John Tyler |
| Preceded by | Matthew Birchard |
| Succeeded by | Seth Barton |
| Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate | |
| In office 1838–1839 | |
| In office 1841–1841 | |
| Pennsylvania State Senate, 14th district | |
| In office 1838–1841 | |
| Pennsylvania State Senate, 16th district | |
| In office 1833–1836 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 6, 1798 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 6, 1857 (aged 58) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican, Whig, Republican |
| Spouse | Valeria Fullerton Biddle |
| Children | 5 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Boies Penrose (grandson) Charles Bingham Penrose (grandson) R. A. F. Penrose Jr. (grandson) Spencer Penrose (grandson) See Biddle family |
| Profession | Lawyer |
He served as Solicitor of the United States Treasury from 1841 to 1845 in the William Henry Harrison and John Tyler administrations and as the first Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in 1849 during the Zachary Taylor administration.
Early life
editPenrose was born in the Frankford neighborhood[1] of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1798, to Clement Biddle Penrose and Anna Howard Bingham.[2] He moved with his family to St. Louis, Missouri, when his father was assigned as commissioner of the Louisiana Territory by President Thomas Jefferson. He volunteered to fight during the War of 1812, however the St. Louis based company was never called into active service.[3]
Penrose studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1821.[3]
Political career
editPenrose was elected as a Democratic-Republican party member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 16th district and served from 1833 to 1835. He switched political parties to the Whig party and served for the 16th district from 1835 to 1837. He served as a Whig member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 14th district from 1837 to 1841 including as Speaker of the Senate from 1838 to 1839 and again in 1841.[2][4]
Buckshot War
editPenrose was a key figure during the Buckshot War of 1838, when both the Whig and Democratic parties claimed control over the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.[5] Penrose certified the Whig results from Philadelphia for the Senate which prompted Charles Brown, one of the rejected candidates, to request to speak. A crowd of hundreds armed with bowie knives and pistols were in attendance to support the Democratic side. They began to shout "You shall admit Brown and Stevens (another Democratic candidate)" and "We will have Burrowes', Stevens', and Penrose's blood". Penrose, Thaddeus Stevens and Secretary of Commonwealth Thomas H. Burrowes fled the Capitol through a window in the back of the Senate chambers to escape the mob.[6]
Governor Joseph Ritner declared a rebellion[7] and Pennsylvania State Milita General Robert Patterson came to Harrisburg with troops to quell any potential violence. Both Penrose and Governor Ritner wrote to Captain Edwin Vose Sumner in command of Federal troops in Carlisle to also come to Harrisburg, however Vose refused to interfere in what he deemed a state political matter.[8]
Treasury
editHe was a delegate to the convention that nominated William Henry Harrison as president.[9] In 1841, Penrose was appointed Solicitor of the Treasury in the Harrison administration and was reappointed in the John Tyler administration from 1841 to 1845.[2] In March 1849 he was appointed the first Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, serving under William Morris Meredith in the Zachary Taylor administration, but only served for a short time.[10]
He switched political parties again and served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 1st district in 1857.[2]
During his second tenure in the State Senate, Penrose was accused of using bribes to arrange the election of Simon Cameron to the United States Senate, but nothing was proved and he was not charged with wrongdoing.[11]
Business career
editHe established a law practice in Carlisle, Pennsylvania,[12] from 1845 to 1847 and in Philadelphia, from 1847 to 1857.[2]
He was president of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, published three volumes of "Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania" and served as trustee and secretary of the Board of Trustees for Dickinson College.[10]
Penrose died of pneumonia[10] in Harrisburg on April 6, 1857,[13] and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[14]
Personal life and family
editHe married a cousin, Valeria Fullerton Biddle[1] and together they had five children.[15] She was a granddaughter of early American clergyman and patriot Elihu Spencer.[16] Their second son, Dr. R.A.F. Penrose Sr.,[15] was professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children at the University of Pennsylvania.[17]
His grandson Charles Bingham Penrose was a Philadelphia gynecologist who invented the Penrose surgical drain.[18] Another grandson, Boies Penrose became a U.S. Senator.[17] Grandsons R.A.F. Penrose and Spencer Penrose also achieved distinction, the former for his geologic surveys and entrepreneurial activity in Texas, Arkansas and Colorado,[19] the latter for founding many mining and financial companies in Colorado as well as the Pike's Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross.[20]
Publications
editReferences
editCitations
- ^ a b MacKenzie, George Norbury (1917). Colonial Families of the United States of America. Baltimore, Maryland: The Seaforth Press. p. 375. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Charles Bingham Penrose". www.library.pasen.gov. Library of the Senate of Pennsylvania. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Leach 1903, p. 83.
- ^ Cochran, Thos. B. (1888). Smull's Legislative Hand Book, and Manual of the State of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: E.K. Myers. p. 263. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Volume 23. Philadelphia: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 1899. pp. 144–146. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Trefousse, Hans L. (1997). Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth Century Egalitarian. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-8078-2335-X. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Donehoo, George P. (1926). Pennsylvania: A History. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. p. 1358. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Kelker, Luther Reily (1907). History of Dauphin County Pennsylvania. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 162. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Leach 1903, p. 86.
- ^ a b c Leach 1903, p. 87.
- ^ Boies Penrose, Symbol of an Era, by Robert Douglas Bowden, 1971, page 82
- ^ Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Cumberland, York, and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania, published by Heritage Society of Pennsylvania, 1986, page 100
- ^ History of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, published by Cumberland County Historical Society, 1982, page 169
- ^ "Charles B Penrose". www.remembermyjourney.com. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Nevin, Alfred (1876). Men of Mark of Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876. Philadelphia: Fulton Publishing Company. pp. 323–324. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Leach 1903, p. 88.
- ^ a b Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Biography of Pennsylvania. Vol. III. New York: Atlantic Publishing & Engraving Company. 1898. pp. 79–80. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Beers, Paul B. (2010). Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday: The Tolerable Accommodation. Penn State Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0271044989.
- ^ Leach 1903, p. 125.
- ^ Leach 1903, pp. 123–124.
Sources
- Leach, Josiah Granville (1903). History of the Penrose Family of Philadelphia. Wm. F. Fell Company.