Brigham, David Trowbridge, 1806-1865

David Trowbridge Brigham (1806-1865), son of Edmund Trowbridge and Elizabeth or Lucy Davis Trowbridge, was born in Shrewsbury, Mass. He graduated from Union College in 1829 and was admitted to the bar in 1831 after studying law in Orange County, N.Y. and with Pliny Merrick (1794-1867) at Worcester, Mass. He was elected a Representative in the Massachusetts General Court in 1834, and Senator in 1836. In 1834, he became president of the Manufacturers' Insurance Company. Throughout the early and mid-1830s, he speculated in real estate unprofitably and left Worcester in the latter half of the decade owing large debts. He moved west to Alton, Ill. and then to St. Louis, Mo., living as a land speculator and railroad contractor. Brigham finally settled in Iowa, serving for several years as a member of the Senate of that state. He died Keokuk, Iowa.