Whittlesey, Elisha, 1783-1863

Ohio lawyer, Whig Congressman, and Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury.

Lawyer, U.S. Representative from Ohio for eight terms from 1823-1838, and comptroller of the Treasury under Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Lincoln. A resident of Canfield, Ohio, Whittlesey was prosecuting attorney for the entire Western Reserve from 1807-1823, and was an officer and private secretary to Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison during the War of 1812. As a circuit lawyer, Whittlesey specialized in land cases, and his business interests were in the handling of eastern capital invested in Ohio lands. Affiliated with the Natl. Republican and Whig parties, Whittlesey was a typical conservative state leader of the 19th century, primarily concerned with economic matters affecting the growth of Ohio. Active in the American Colonization Society, he believed in expatriation as the answer to the slavery problem.

Representative from Ohio. First Comptroller of the Treasury.

Lawyer, U.S. Representative from Ohio (1822-38), and public official.

First comptroller of the treasury of the United States.

Representative from Ohio; born in Washington, Conn., October 19, 1783; in early youth moved with his parents to Salisbury, Conn.; attended the common schools at Danbury; studied law in Danbury; was admitted to the bar of Fairfield County and practiced in Danbury and Fairfield County; also practiced in New Milford, Conn., in 1805; moved to Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio, in 1806; practiced law and taught school; prosecuting attorney of Mahoning County; served as military and private secretary to Gen. William Henry Harrison and as brigade major in the Army of the Northwest in the War of 1812; member of the State house of representatives in 1820 and 1821; elected to the Eighteenth through Twenty-second Congresses, elected as an Anti-Masonic candidate to the Twenty-third Congress, and elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses and served from March 4, 1823, to July 9, 1838, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Claims (Twenty-first through Twenty-fifth Congresses); Sixth Auditor of the Treasury from March 18, 1841, until December 18, 1843, when he resigned and resumed the practice of law in Canfield; appointed general agent of the Washington Monument Association in 1847; appointed by President Taylor as First Comptroller of the Treasury and served from May 31, 1849, to March 26, 1857, when he was removed by President Buchanan; was reappointed by President Lincoln April 10, 1861, and served until his death in Washington, D.C., January 7, 1863; interment in the Canfield Village Cemetery, Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio.

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Elisha Whittlesey (1783-1863) was a lawyer and politician who practiced in Canfield, Ohio. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, he studied law in the office of his brother, Mathew Beale Whittlesey, in Danbury, Connecticut. He was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1805 and moved with his wife to the Western Reserve in 1806 where he served as the prosecuting attorney from 1807-1823. Whittlesey joined the Ohio Militia in 1806 and during the War of 1812 he was the private secretary to General William Henry Harrison. He was a senior partner with Eben Newton in a large, well known law practice, specializing in land issues. He invested in land and banks in the Western Reserve as well.

Whittlesey served two terms in the Ohio Assembly beginning in 1820, and from 1823-1838 he served in the United States Congress, first as a National Republican and then as a Whig. From 1849-1857 and again in 1861-1863, he served as the comptroller of the United States Treasury.

Beginning in 1836, he was an active member of the American Colonization Society, serving as Vice President and Chairman of the Executive Committee. Whittlesey married Polly Mygatt in 1806, and they had ten children.

View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Elisha Whittlesey

Elisha Whittlesey (1783-1863) was a lawyer and politician who practiced in Canfield, Ohio. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, he studied law in the office of his brother, Mathew Beale Whittlesey, in Danbury, Connecticut. He was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1805 and moved with his wife to the Western Reserve in 1806 where he served as the prosecuting attorney from 1807-1823. Whittlesey joined the Ohio Militia in 1806 and during the War of 1812 he was the private secretary to General William Henry Harrison. He was a senior partner with Eben Newton in a large, well known law practice, specializing in land issues. He invested in land and banks in the Western Reserve as well.

Whittlesey served two terms in the Ohio Assembly beginning in 1820, and from 1823-1838 he served in the United States Congress, first as a National Republican and then as a Whig. From 1849-1857 and again in 1861-1863, he served as the comptroller of the United States Treasury.

Beginning in 1836, he was an active member of the American Colonization Society, serving as Vice President and Chairman of the Executive Committee. Whittlesey married Polly Mygatt in 1806, and they had ten children.

View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Elisha Whittlesey