Alexander H. Coffroth | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1863 – July 18, 1866 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Bailey |
| Succeeded by | William H. Koontz |
| Constituency | 16th district |
| In office March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 | |
| Preceded by | Jacob M. Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Jacob M. Campbell |
| Constituency | 17th district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Hamilton Coffroth (1828-05-18)May 18, 1828 Somerset, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 2, 1906(1906-09-02) (aged 78) Markleton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Signature | .png) |
Alexander Hamilton Coffroth (May 18, 1828 – September 2, 1906) was aDemocratic member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania.
Alexander H. Coffroth was born inSomerset, Pennsylvania. He had at least two brothers, John B. Coffroth and C.A.B. Coffroth.[1] He attended the public schools and Somerset Academy. For five years, he produced a Democratic newspaper in Somerset. He pursued legal education with the Hon.Jeremiah S. Black, and was admitted to the bar in February 1851 at Somerset, where he practiced his profession. He was a delegate to several Democratic State conventions, as well as a delegate to the1860 Democratic National Conventions which assembled inCharleston, South Carolina, andBaltimore, Maryland. He served as an assessor of internal revenue in 1867, and was a delegate to the1872 Democratic National Convention.
Coffroth was elected as a Democrat to theThirty-eighth Congress. During his term, he supported the passage of theThirteenth Amendment, along with some other Democrats, such asArchibald McAllister. He claimed reelection to theThirty-ninth Congress, was seated on February 19, 1866, and served until July 18, 1866, when he was succeeded byWilliam H. Koontz, who contested the election. He was again elected to theForty-sixth Congress. He served as chairman of theUnited States House Committee on Invalid Pensions during the Forty-sixth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880, and he resumed the practice of law in Somerset. Coffroth died at the sanitarium inMarkleton, Pennsylvania, on September 2, 1906.[2] He was interred in Union Cemetery in Somerset.
Coffroth was the last surviving pallbearer who had served at the funeral of PresidentAbraham Lincoln.
During Coffroth's tenure as its Representative, Pennsylvania's 16th district took inAdams County, which includesGettysburg, site in 1863 of theBattle of Gettysburg and theGettysburg Address.
In the 2012 filmLincoln, Coffroth is portrayed byBoris McGiver.[3] A memorable two-minute scene in the film features abolitionistThaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) belittling Coffroth and persuading him to vote, as a Democrat, in favor of the Thirteenth Amendment, so that it would pass with bipartisan support. In the movie, Stevens offers to quash a challenge to Coffroth's election filed by his Republican challenger that would be heard by the GOP-controlled House Elections Committee, which is tasked with resolving disputed elections as tasked by the Constitution. Unlike in the movie, where Stevens demands Coffroth to switch parties in the next Congress in order to have his opponent's challenge quashed, in real life, Coffroth's Republican challenger,William H. Koontz, won his case before the House Elections Committee and Coffroth was ousted from his seat.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 16th congressional district 1863–1865 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 17th congressional district 1879–1881 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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