Israel Washburn Jr.

Born in 1813 in Livermore (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts) to a prominent political family, Washburn spent his life in politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Thirty-first Congress in 1848; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses, as a Republican to the Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, and Thirty-sixth Congresses. He served from March 4, 1851, to January 1, 1861, when he resigned, having been elected Governor.

He was Chairman of the Committee on Elections (Thirty-fourth Congress). He organized the Maine Republican Party from 1854 onward. He was the 29th Governor of Maine from 1861 to 1863. During the American Civil War, he helped recruit Federal troops from Maine. In 1862, he attended the Loyal War Governors' Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which ultimately gave Abraham Lincoln support for his Emancipation Proclamation.

In 1863, Lincoln appointed Washburn Collector of the Port of Portland, Maine. He held this position until 1877.[3] Washburn was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1882.[4]

Washburn was the brother of Elihu B. Washburne, Cadwallader C. Washburn, William D. Washburn, Samuel Benjamin Washburn, and Charles Ames Washburn. He died in 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine.

The town of Washburn, Maine is named in his honor.

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.
• Hanson, Mary E. Hanson.:, In memoriam. Israel Washburn Jr: born June 5, 1813, died May 12, 1883 (1884).
• Gienapp, William E.:, The Origins of the Republican Party (Oxford, 1987), p. 89.

• United States Congress. "Israel Washburn Jr. (id: W000173)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Israel Washburn Jr. at Find a Grave
• The Washburn Family