Jonas Phillips PHOENIX, Congress, NY (1788-1859)

PHOENIX, Jonas Phillips, a Representative from New York; born in Morristown, Morris County, N.J., January 14, 1788; received a limited schooling; became a merchant in New York City; alderman of the first ward in 1840, 1842, and 1847; appointed a commissioner of the Croton Aqueduct Works in 1842; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1845); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1844; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1846 to the Thirtieth Congress; chairman of the Whig General Committee in 1846 and 1847; member of the State assembly in 1848; elected to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851); renominated in 1850 but declined to be a candidate; died in New York City May 4, 1859; interment in the Presbyterian Cemetery, Morristown, N.J.

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