John Conness
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| John Conness | |
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| Born | September 22, 1821 Abbey, County Galway, Ireland |
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| Died | January 10, 1909 (aged 87) Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts |
John Conness (September 22, 1821 – January 10, 1909) was a first-generation Irish-American businessman who served as a U.S. Senator from California. Coming to the United States in 1833, Conness arrived in California among the 1849ers. Serving in the State Assembly in the 1853-54 and 1860-61 sessions, he was the Anti-Lecompton Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1859 and the Union Democrat candidate for Governor in the 1861 election. Losing to John G. Downey in the first instance and Leland Stanford in the second he was chosen by the Legislature to fill the full term of United States Senator from California for the term beginning in 1863.
A Douglas Democrat who later became a Union Republican while serving in the Senate, Conness had evidently earned President Abraham Lincoln’s respect. Lincoln once said of Conness that he “is habitually careful not to say what he does not know,” and described him on another occasion as “one of our United States Senators, of high standing, whom I cheerfully indorse.” Conness was a pallbearer at Lincoln’s funeral on April 19, 1865. After his Senate term he relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where he lived the remainder of his life.
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| Preceded by Milton S. Latham |
United States Senator (Class 1) from California March 4, 1863 – March 4, 1869 Served alongside: James A. McDougall, Cornelius Cole |
Succeeded by Eugene Casserly |
| Preceded by Edmund Pettus |
Oldest living U.S. Senator July 27, 1907 – January 10, 1909 |
Succeeded by Cornelius Cole |
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