Alexander Hamilton Coffroth

Alexander Hamilton Coffroth
File:Alexander H Coffrotts.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 17th district
In office March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881
Preceded by	Jacob M. Campbell
Succeeded by	Jacob M. Campbell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 16th district
In office March 4, 1863 – July 19, 1866
Preceded by	Joseph Bailey
Succeeded by	William H. Koontz
Personal details
Born	(1828-05-18)May 18, 1828 Somerset, Pennsylvania
Died	Markleton, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic

Alexander Hamilton Coffroth (May 18, 1828 – September 2, 1906) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Life and career

Alexander H. Coffroth was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools and Somerset Academy. He published a Democratic paper in Somerset for five years. He studied law in the law office of Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, and was admitted to the bar in February 1851 at Somerset, where he practiced his profession. He was a delegate to several Democratic State conventions, as well as a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Conventions which assembled in Charleston, South Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland. He served as an assessor of internal revenue in 1867, and was a delegate to the 1872 Democratic National Convention.

Coffroth was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress. During his term, he supported the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, along with some other Democrats, such as Archibald McAllister. He claimed reelection to the Thirty-ninth Congress, was seated on February 19, 1866, and served until July 18, 1866, when he was succeeded by William H. Koontz, who contested the election. He was again elected to the Forty-sixth Congress. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions during the Forty-sixth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880. He resumed the practice of law in Somerset and died in Markleton, Pennsylvania, in 1906. He was interned in Union Cemetery in Somerset.

Coffroth was the last surviving pallbearer who had served at the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln.

Fictional portrayals

In the 2012 film Lincoln, Coffroth is portrayed by Boris McGiver.

Sources

• Alexander Hamilton Coffroth at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Joseph Bailey	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district 1863–1865	Succeeded by William H. Koontz
Preceded by Jacob M. Campbell	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district 1879–1881	Succeeded by Jacob M. Campbell