Samuel BRENTON, Congress, IN (1810-1857)

BRENTON, Samuel, a Representative from Indiana; born in Gallatin County, Ky., November 22, 1810; attended the public schools; was ordained to the Methodist ministry in 1830 and served as a minister; located at Danville, Ind., in 1834 because of ill health, and studied law; member of the State house of representatives 1838-1841; in 1841, returned to the ministry and served at Crawfordsville, Perryville, Lafayette, and finally at Fort Wayne, where he suffered a paralytic stroke in 1848 and was compelled to abandon his ministerial duties; appointed register of the land office at Fort Wayne, Ind., on May 2, 1849, and served until July 31, 1851, when he resigned; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1853); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress; elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1855, until his death in Fort Wayne, Ind., March 29, 1857; interment in Lindenwood Cemetery.

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