Elisha LITCHFIELD, Congress, NY (1785-1859)

LITCHFIELD Elisha , a Representative from New York; born in Canterbury, Windham County, Conn., July 12, 1785; attended the common schools; learned the carpenter's trade; moved to Onondaga County, N.Y., and settled in Delphi (now Delphi Falls), N.Y., in 1812; major in the War of 1812; served as justice of the peace and supervisor of Onondaga County; appointed postmaster of Delphi November 28, 1817, and served until June 25, 1821; engaged in mercantile pursuits; member of the state assembly in 1819, 1831-1833, 1844, and 1848, and served as speaker of that body in the latter year; elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress and as one of the Crawford Republicans to the Eighteenth Congress (March 4, 1821-March 3, 1825); was not a candidate for renomination in 1824 to the Nineteenth Congress and withdrew from public life and active business pursuits; moved to Cazenovia, Madison County, N.Y., in 1838 and died there August 4, 1859; interment in the Delphi Falls Baptist Church Cemetery, Delphi Falls, N.Y.

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