John Francis LEWIS, Congress, VA (1818-1895)

LEWIS, John Francis, a Senator from Virginia; born in Lynnwood, Rockingham County, Va., March 1, 1818; attended an old field school; engaged in agricultural pursuits; delegate to the State secession convention in 1861 and refused to sign the ordinance of secession; elected lieutenant governor in 1869; upon the readmission of the State of Virginia to representation was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from January 26, 1870, to March 3, 1875; was not a candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on the District of Columbia (Forty-third Congress); appointed by Presidents Ulysses Grant and Rutherford Hayes United States marshal for the western district of Virginia 1875-1882, when he resigned; again elected lieutenant governor in 1881; resumed agricultural pursuits; died at “Lynnwood,” Rockingham County, Va., September 2, 1895; interment in the family burial ground.

Bibliography

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