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Shepherd Leffler | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1851 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | Lincoln Clark |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa'sat-large district | |
| In office December 28, 1846 – March 3, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1811-04-24)April 24, 1811 |
| Died | September 7, 1879(1879-09-07) (aged 68) Burlington, Iowa, U.S |
| Party | Democratic |
| Relatives | Isaac Leffler (brother) |
| Education | Washington & Jefferson College |
Shepherd Leffler (April 24, 1811 – September 7, 1879) was one of the two originalU.S. Representatives to representIowa when the state was first admitted to the Union. Elected as aDemocrat in 1846, Leffler went on to representIowa's 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House for additional terms.
Leffler was born on his grandfather's plantation, "Sylvia's Plain," inWashington County, Pennsylvania, nearWheeling, Virginia (nowWest Virginia). He attended private schools and was graduated from Washington College inWashington, Pennsylvania, and from the law department of Jefferson College (nowWashington & Jefferson College), inCanonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1833. He wasadmitted to the bar and commenced practice in Wheeling.
In 1835 he moved to what is nowBurlington, Iowa (then a part ofMichigan Territory, the next year a part ofWisconsin Territory, and the next year the initial capital ofIowa Territory). He served as member of the Iowa Territory's House of Representatives in 1839 and 1841, and on its Territorial Council from 1841 to 1843 and again in 1845.
He was the brother of Virginia CongressmanIsaac Leffler.
As statehood approached, he served as the permanent president of the Iowaconstitutional convention in 1844, and a member in the second convention in 1846. Upon the admission of Iowa as a state on December 28, 1846, he was elected as a Democrat to serve as one of two at-large Congressmen for the last two months of theTwenty-ninth Congress. He had also been elected to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district in theThirtieth Congress from 1847 to early 1849. In 1848, he defeated Whig (and future Republican) candidateTimothy Davis, then served in theThirty-first Congress. He served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions in the Thirty-first Congress. In all, he served in Congress from December 28, 1846, to March 3, 1851.
After his last term ended, he resumed the practice of law in Burlington, and farmed. In 1856 he attempted to regain his seat, running as a Democrat in a year in which DemocratJames Buchanan was elected president. However, Iowans defied the national trend and voted overwhelmingly for Republican candidates, including Leffler's opponent, Timothy Davis, reversing the outcome of their 1848 race. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate forGovernor of Iowa in 1875, losing to another Iowa pioneer,Samuel J. Kirkwood.
Leffler died at his home, "Flint Hills," near Burlington, on September 7, 1879. He was interred inAspen Grove Cemetery.[1]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nomineeGovernor of Iowa 1875 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's at-large congressional district December 29, 1846 – March 3, 1847 | District eliminated |
| Preceded by District created | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1851 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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