James BUFFINTON, Congress, MA (1817-1875)

BUFFINTON, James, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Fall River, Mass., March 16, 1817; attended the common schools, and Friends College, Providence, R.I.; studied medicine but never practiced; engaged in mercantile pursuits in Fall River; mayor of Fall River in 1854 and 1855; elected as a candidate of the American Party to the Thirty-fourth Congress and as a Republican to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1863); chairman, Committee on Accounts (Thirty-seventh Congress), Committee on Military Affairs (Thirty-seventh Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1862; was mustered into the service April 24, 1861, and was discharged June 15, 1861; special agent of the United States Treasury and internal revenue collector for the district of Massachusetts 1867-1869; elected as a Republican to the Forty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1869, until his death in Fall River, Mass., March 7, 1875; chairman, Committee on Accounts (Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses); interment in Oak Grove Cemetery.

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