James Buffinton

Republican Representative of Massachusetts's 1st district

Congresses Served

House Terms

March 16, 1817 (57 years old)

Birthday

March 7, 1875

Death

Served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
Attended common schools and Friends College in Providence, Rhode Island
Studied medicine but never practiced, instead engaged in mercantile pursuits
Served on the Fall River Board of Selectmen from 1851 to 1854
Became the first Mayor of Fall River under the new city government from 1854 to 1855
Elected as a candidate of the American Party to the Thirty-fourth Congress and as a Republican to the three succeeding Congresses
Served in Congress from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1863, and again from March 4, 1869, until his death on March 7, 1875
Held the position of chairman of the Committee on Accounts and the Committee on Military Affairs during his tenure in Congress
Briefly mustered into service from April 24, 1861, to June 15, 1861
Worked as a special agent of the United States Treasury and was an internal revenue collector for the district of Massachusetts between 1867 and 1869
Passed away in Fall River and was interred at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River