Charles C. Stratton

For the dwarf of the same name, see General Tom Thumb.
Charles Creighton Stratton
15th Governor of New Jersey
In office
January 21, 1845  January 18, 1848
Preceded by Daniel Haines
Succeeded by Daniel Haines
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's At-large district
In office
March 4, 1837  March 3, 1839
Preceded by Ferdinand S. Schenck
Succeeded by Daniel B. Ryall
In office
March 4, 1841  March 3, 1843
Preceded by Daniel B. Ryall
Succeeded by District eliminated
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office
1821
1823
1829
Personal details
Born (1796-03-06)March 6, 1796
Swedesboro, New Jersey
Died March 30, 1859(1859-03-30) (aged 63)
Swedesboro, New Jersey
Political party Whig
Spouse(s) Sarah Taggart
Religion Episcopalian

Charles Creighton Stratton (March 6, 1796 – March 30, 1859) was a politician from New Jersey, who served in the United States House of Representatives and was later the 15th Governor of New Jersey.

Biography

He was born, and died, in Swedesboro, in Gloucester County, New Jersey.[1] He is interred at Trinity Church Cemetery in Swedesboro.[2]

He graduated from Rutgers College in 1814, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1821, 1823, and again in 1829. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth United States Congress (1837–1839); presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Twenty-sixth Congress, but the House declined to seat him ; reelected to the Twenty-seventh United States Congress (1841–1843). He chose not to run again in 1842. Stratton served as a member of the 1844 Constitutional convention (political meeting) that created a revised New Jersey State Constitution.[1]

The new 1844 New Jersey State Constitution provided for direct election of a Governor for a single three-year term. Stratton ran on the Whig ticket, and campaigned on a platform opposing the powerful railroad interests of the state. The Democratic candidate was Pennsylvania-born John R. Thomson, who was a stockholder in the railroad and a vigorous advocate of internal improvements.[3]

Stratton won, and served as Governor from January 21, 1845, to January 17, 1848. After his term he resumed agricultural pursuits. He married Sarah Taggart of Philadelphia in 1854. Because of ill health, he resided in Europe in 1857 and 1858.

Although he had no children, he had two notable nephews. Benjamin Franklin Howey was a Republican member of the Forty-eighth United States Congress (1883–1885) from the 4th Congressional District. Another nephew, Thomas Preston Carpenter, served as an Associate Justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court.

His home in Woolwich Township, New Jersey, the Gov. Charles C. Stratton House, was built in 1791 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 29, 1973.[4]

References

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Philemon Dickerson, Samuel Fowler, Thomas Lee, James Parker, Ferdinand Schureman Schenck, William Norton Shinn, and William Chetwood on a General ticket
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's at-large congressional district

alongside John Bancker Aycrigg, William Halstead, John Patterson Bryan Maxwell, Joseph Fitz Randolph, and Thomas Jones Yorke on a General ticket
March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839
Succeeded by
Joseph Fitz Randolph, William Raworth Cooper, Philemon Dickerson, Joseph Kille, Daniel Bailey Ryall, and Peter Dumont Vroom on a General ticket
Preceded by
Joseph Fitz Randolph, William Raworth Cooper, Philemon Dickerson, Joseph Kille, Daniel Bailey Ryall, and Peter Dumont Vroom on a General ticket
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's at-large congressional district

alongside John Bancker Aycrigg, William Halstead, John Patterson Bryan Maxwell, Joseph Fitz Randolph, and Thomas Jones Yorke on a General ticket
March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
Succeeded by
Lucius Q.C. Elmer, George Sykes, Isaac G. Farlee, Littleton Kirkpatrick, William Wright in separate districts
Political offices
Preceded by
Daniel Haines
Governor of New Jersey
January 21, 1845 – January 18, 1848
Succeeded by
Daniel Haines
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