Joseph Chambers McKIBBIN, Congress, CA (1824-1896)

McKIBBIN, Joseph Chambers, a Representative from California; born in Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pa., May 14, 1824; received a common-school education and attended Princeton College 1840-1842; moved to California and settled in Sierra County in 1849; studied law; was admitted to the bar in July 1852 and practiced in Downieville; member of the State senate in 1852 and 1853; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress; during the Civil War enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and was one of the first six Cavalry officers appointed by President Lincoln; served as a colonel and aide-de-camp on the staffs of Major General Halleck and Major General Thomas; settled in Washington, D.C., after the Civil War, as a general contractor; purchased the property at Marshall Hall, Charles County, Md., in 1883; died at Marshall Hall, Md., near Washington, D.C., July 1, 1896; interment in Arlington National Cemetery.

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