Epaphroditus Champion
General Epaphroditus Champion | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Champion byAnson Dickinson | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut'sAt-largedistrict | |
| In office March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1817 | |
| Preceded by | Theodore Dwight |
| Succeeded by | Ebenezer Huntington |
| Member of theConnecticut General Assembly | |
| In office 1791-1806 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 6, 1756 Colchester,Connecticut Colony,British America |
| Died | December 22, 1834(aged 78) East Haddam, Connecticut,U.S. |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse |
Lucretia Hubbard (m.1781) |
| Relations | Henry Champion(brother) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Colonel Henry Champion Deborah Brainard Champion |
| Occupation | War Veteran,Politician,Landowner |
Epaphroditus Champion(April 6, 1756 – December 22, 1834) was an American politician and military officer fromConnecticut.He served as aU.S. Representativefrom Connecticut.
Early life[edit]
Champion was born inColchesterin theConnecticut Colony,son of ColonelHenry Championand Deborah (Brainard) Champion.[1]He was educated both by private tutors and in thecommon schools.
Champion's brotherHenry Championwas a major in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and served in the Connecticut state house of representatives.[2] [3]
Career[edit]
During the American Revolutionary War, Connecticut GovernorJonathan Trumbulldirected Champion's father, Connecticut state commissary Colonel Henry Champion, to collect cattle and drive them toValley Forge.Champion helped his father gather a herd of 300 cattle atHartford, Connecticutand drive them west to King's Ferry, across the Hudson, into New Jersey, across the Delaware to Washington's famished troops west of theSchuylkill.They were devoured in five days prompting Champion to remark that the cattle were so thoroughly eaten that "you might have made a knife out of every bone."[4]Champion was named assistant commissary to Trumbull in 1776, and was the first Commissary General of the Continental Army.[5][6]
Champion moved toEast Haddam, Connecticutin 1782. He served as a captain in the Twenty-fourth Regiment of the Connecticut State militia from 1784 to 1792, as major from 1793 to 1794, as lieutenant colonel from 1795 to 1798, and as brigadier general of the Seventh Brigade from 1800 to 1803.[7][8]
He worked as a merchant, shipowner, exporter and importer. He was successful in conducting trade in the West Indies.[9]Champion was a member of the Connecticut state assembly from 1791 to 1806.[10]He was elected as aFederalistcandidate to theTenth United States Congressand to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1807 to March 3, 1817.[11]After serving in Congress, he resumed his former business activities. Champion served as commissary general of provisions for army pensioners in 1832.[12]
Personal life[edit]
In 1781, Champion married Lucretia Hubbard (1760–1836). Together, they had three children:[13][14]
- Lucretia Champion (1783–1882)[13]
- Clarissa Champion (1785–1801)[13]
- Epaphroditus Champion, Jr. (1786–1841).[13]
Champion died on December 22, 1834, in East Haddam, Connecticut. He is interred in Riverview Cemetery in East Haddam. His epitaph reads, "Talents, benevolence and integrity characterized his spotless life."[8]
Legacy[edit]
Champion's home in East Haddam is included in theEast Haddam Historic District,which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.The home is named the General Epaphroditus Champion House and was built in alate-Georgian style.[15]
References[edit]
- ^"Epaphroditus Champion (1756 - 1834)".Ancestry.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"Champion, Henry (1751-1836)".The Political Graveyard.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^Descendants of the brothers Jeremiah and John Wood.W. S. Wood. 1885. p. 11.
- ^Roth, David Morris (1974).Connecticut's war Governor, Jonathan Trumbull.Pequot Press. pp.45–46.ISBN9780871061492.
- ^"Epaphroditus Champion (1756-1834)".The Strangest Names in American Political History. July 21, 2011.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"The Champion Story: General George Washington and The Champion Family of Colchester".Colchester Historical Society.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"CHAMPION, Epaphroditus, (1756 - 1834)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^abThe Connecticut Quarterly, Volume 2.Connecticut Quarterly Company. 1896. p. 126.
- ^"Deming, Perkins, and Quincy families papers, 1762-1950".Litchfield Historical Society.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"Epaphroditus Champion (1756-1834)".The Political Graveyard.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"Rep. Epaphroditus Champion".Govtrack.us.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^United States. Government Printing Office (1903).Congressional serial set.United States. Government Printing Office. p. 119.
- ^abcd"Epaphroditus Champion (1756-1834)".The Strangest Names in American Political History. July 21, 2011.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"Lucretia Champion Bacon".Litchfield Historical Society.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
- ^"East Haddam Historic District".Living Places.RetrievedDecember 27,2012.
External links[edit]
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: CHAMPION, Epaphroditus, (1756 - 1834)
- Epaphroditus ChampionatFind a Grave
- Govtrack.us: Epaphroditus Champion
- The Strangest Names in American Political History: Epaphroditus Champion (1756-1834)
- The Political Graveyard: Epaphroditus Champion (1756-1834)
- Biographical Directory of The United States Congress: Guide to Research Collections
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