Ebenezer Knowlton (December 6, 1815 – September 10, 1874) was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and Free Will Baptist minister.

Ebenezer Knowlton
Member of U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
Preceded byE. Wilder Farley
Succeeded byNehemiah Abbott
18th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
1846–1847
Preceded byMoses Macdonald
Succeeded byHugh Dean McLellan
Member of the
Maine House of Representatives
In office
1844–1850
Personal details
Born(1815-12-06)6 December 1815
Pittsfield, New Hampshire, United States
Died10 September 1874(1874-09-10) (aged 58)
South Montville, Maine
Political partyOpposition Party
Other political
affiliations
Republican Party
OccupationMinister, Congressman

Biography

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Born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, Knowlton moved with his parents to South Montville, Maine, in 1825. He attended the China and Waterville Academies in Maine. He studied theology and entered the ministry as a Free Will Baptist.

Career

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Knowlton served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1844 to 1850, and served as speaker in 1846.[1] Knowlton was elected as an Opposition Party (a party transitioning between the Whigs and Republicans) candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857.[2] He became an early member of the Republican Party and was a lifelong supporter of abolitionism and the temperance movement.

Knowlton served as trustee of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Knowlton also served as a trustee of Colby College and Maine Central Institute, and after the Civil War he worked for the Freedmen's Bureau in Beaufort, South Carolina.

He was a corporator of the Morning Star, a Free Will Baptist newspaper, and was president of the Foreign Missions Board. Knowlton continued his ministerial duties until his death.

Death

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Knowlton died in South Montville, Maine on September 10, 1874, and is interred in the South Montville City Cemetery.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Knowlton, Ebenezer, (1815 - 1874)". Biographical Directory of the United StatesCongress. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  2. ^ "Rep. Ebenezer Knowlton". govtrack.us. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  3. ^ "Ebenezer Knowlton". Find A Grave. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 3rd congressional district

March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by 18th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
1846-1847
Succeeded by