Connecticut Historical Society

NILES, John Milton, a Senator from Connecticut; born in Windsor, Hartford County, Conn., August 20, 1787; completed preparatory studies; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1817 and commenced practice in Hartford, Conn.; established and edited the Hartford Weekly Times in 1817; associate judge of Hartford County Court 1821-1826; member, State house of representatives 1826; unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 1827; postmaster of Hartford 1829-1836; appointed in 1835 as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Nathan Smith; subsequently elected and served from December 21, 1835, to March 3, 1839; was not a candidate for renomination in 1838; chairman, Committee on Manufactures (Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Connecticut in 1839 and 1840; Postmaster General in the Cabinet of President Martin Van Buren in 1840 and 1841; again elected to the United States Senate in 1843, but illness prevented him from attending the Senate until April 30, 1844, and a credentials challenge prevented him from taking the oath of office until May 16, 1844, when the challenge was resolved; served from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1849; was not a candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses (Twenty-ninth Congress), Committee on Post Office and Post Roads (Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses); author; died in Hartford, Conn., May 31, 1856; interment in Old North Cemetery.