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Elihu Benjamin Washburne, an American statesman of eminence, was born in Livermore, Maine, September 23, 1816. He learned the trade of printer, but abandoned that calling at the age of eighteen and entered the Kent's Hill Academy at Reading, Maine, and then took up the study of law, reading in Hallowell, Boston, and at the Harvard Law School. He began practice at Galena, Illinois, in 1840. He was elected to congress in 1852, and represented his district in that body continuously until March, 1869, and at the time of his retirement he had served a greater number of consecutive terms than any other member of the house. In 1873 President Grant appointed him secretary of state, which position he resigned to accept that of minister to France. During the Franco Prussian war, including the siege of Paris and the reign of the Commune, Mr. Washburne remained at his post, protecting the lives and property of his countrymen, as well as that of other foreign residents in Paris, while the ministers of all other powers abandoned their posts at a time when they were most needed. As far as possible he extended protection to unfortunate German residents, who were the particular objects of hatred of the populace, and his firmness and the success which attended his efforts won the admiration of all Europe. Mr. Washburne died at Chicago, Illinois, October 22, 1887. (A Biographical Record of Boone County, Iowa, 1902, Page 189) (Contributed by Peggy Thompson) HOME |
