Elisha PHELPS, Congress, CT (1779-1847)

PHELPS, Elisha, (father of John Smith Phelps), a Representative from Connecticut; born in Simsbury, Hartford County, Conn., November 16, 1779; was graduated from Yale College in 1800 and from Litchfield (Conn.) Law School; was admitted to the bar in 1803 and began practice in Simsbury; member of the state house of representatives in 1807, 1812, and 1814-1818; elected as a Republican to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1819-March 3, 1821); again a member of the state house of representatives in 1821 and served as speaker; served in the state senate 1822-1824; elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses (March 4, 1825-March 3, 1829); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1828; state comptroller 1831-1837; again a member of the state house of representatives in 1829 and 1835 and served as speaker in 1829; appointed a commissioner to revise and codify the state laws in 1835; died in Simsbury, Conn., April 6, 1847; interment in Hop Meadow Cemetery.

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