Benjamin Fitzpatrick

Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 – November 21, 1869) was an American politician who served as the 11th governor of Alabama and as a United States senator from that state. He was a Democrat.

Early life Fitzpatrick was born on June 30, 1802 in Greene County, Georgia to William Fitzpatrick, a long-serving member of the Georgia legislature, and Anne Phillips Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick was orphaned at the age of seven, taken in by his brothers and sisters, and moved to Alabama, where he attended public school but received little formal education. He relocated by himself to the Mississippi Territory at the age of 14.

Fitzpatrick helped his brothers manage the land they owned on the Alabama River and served as deputy under the first sheriff of Autauga County. He worked and studied law in the law office of Nimrod E. Benson, who was the mayor of Montgomery, and he was admitted to the bar in 1821 at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter, he was elected to be solicitor of the Montgomery circuit; he was reelected to the position in 1825, defeating Samuel W. Mardis.

In 1827, he married Sarah Terry Elmore, the daughter of John Archer Elmore and a member of the wealthy and prominent family of which Elmore County was named after. That same year he retired from his law practice due to ill health and moved to his plantation in Autauga County that he had acquired from his marriage. Fitzpatrick and Sarah had six sons together. He declined to seek reelection as circuit solictor in order to devote time to overseeing the operation of the plantation, which turned out to be lucrative. In 1830, Fitzpatrick owned 30 slaves, and by 1850, this number had raised to 106. His wife died in 1837, and this marked Fitzpatrick's turn towards politics. He would later marry Aurelia Blassingame in 1847, with whom he had a seventh son. to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William R. King, who had been elected Vice President of the United States, and served from January 14, 1853, to March 3, 1855. He served in that Congress as Chairman of the Committee on Printing and the Committee on Engrossed Bills. He was elected to the Senate again to fill the vacancy caused by the failure of the legislature to elect his successor on November 26, 1855. In that role, he served several times as President pro tempore of the Senate.

Vice presidential nomination In 1860, Fitzpatrick was nominated for Vice President of the United States by the wing of the Democratic Party that had nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for president. However, he refused the nomination, and Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia was ultimately nominated. Fitzpatrick withdrew from the Senate on January 21, 1861, following the secession of his home state.

Confederacy Fitzpatrick did not take a particularly active role in the politics of the Confederacy, although he served as president of the constitutional convention of Alabama in 1865.

Death He died on his Oak Grove Plantation near Wetumpka, Alabama, on November 21, 1869, aged 67.