Samuel Page Benson
(1804-1876) a U.S. Representative, was born in Winthrop on November 28, 1804. He received instruction from private teachers and attended the Monmouth Academy, was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825.
Benson studied law, was admitted to the Kennebec County bar in 1828, and began his practice in Unity. He returned to Winthrop and practiced law until 1850, and was a railroad builder and Secretary of the Androscoggin and Kennebec (later Maine Central) Railroad.
A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1833 and 1834, he served in the Maine State Senate in 1836 and 1837, and was Secretary of State (1838-1841). Benson was an Overseer of Bowdoin College (1838-1876) and president of the board for sixteen years. He was chairman of the board of selectmen 1844-1848.
Elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress and as a Republican to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1853-March 3, 1857), he was chairman, of the Committee on Naval Affairs (Thirty-fourth Congress). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1856, when he resumed the practice of law.
Benson died in Yarmouth on August 12, 1876, with interment in Maple Cemetery in Winthrop.
Additional resources
“Samuel Page Benson” image from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_P._Benson; originally from 1882’s “History of Bowdoin College” by Cleaveland and Packard. [Public Domain]
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-Present: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-Present: http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp