James Michael CAVANAUGH, Congress, MT (1823-1879)

CAVANAUGH, James Michael, a Representative from Minnesota and a Delegate from the Territory of Montana; born in Springfield, Mass., July 4, 1823; received an academic education; engaged in newspaper work; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1854 and began practice in Davenport, Iowa; moved to Chatfield, Fillmore County, Minn., in 1854 and continued the practice of law; upon the admission of Minnesota as a State into the Union was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress and served from May 11, 1858, to March 3, 1859; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress; moved to Colorado in 1861 and resumed the practice of law; also engaged in mining; member of the State constitutional convention in 1865; moved to Montana in 1866; elected as a Democrat a Delegate to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1871); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1870; engaged in the practice of law in New York City; returned to Colorado in 1879 and settled in Leadville, where he died October 30, 1879; interment in Greenwood Cemetery, New York City.

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