Lorenzo De Medici Sweat
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1863  March 3, 1865
Preceded byJohn N. Goodwin
Succeeded byJohn Lynch
Personal details
Born(1818-05-26)May 26, 1818
Parsonsfield, Massachusetts (now Maine), U.S.
DiedJuly 26, 1898(1898-07-26) (aged 80)
Portland, Maine, U.S.
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMargaret Jane Mussey
Childrennone
Alma materBowdoin College
Harvard Law School
ProfessionAttorney

Lorenzo De Medici Sweat (May 26, 1818 July 26, 1898) was a U.S. Representative from Maine.

Early life and education

He was born in the town of Parsonsfield in the Massachusetts District of Maine, where he attended Parsonsfield Seminary, a Free Will Baptist school. Sweat attended Bowdoin College, from which he graduated in 1837, and studied law with Rufus McIntire. He attended Harvard Law School, and after graduating in 1840 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in New Orleans.[1]

Marriage and family

Sweat returned to Maine and settled in Portland, where he continued to practice law.[1] In 1849, he married novelist Margaret Jane Mussey and purchased a home adjoining author and critic, John Neal.[2] The couple did not have children.[3]

Political career

Sweat held various local offices including Portland City Solicitor from 1856 to 1860. He served as a member of the Maine State Senate from 1861 to 1862.[1]

He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1865.[1] He voted against the Thirteenth Amendment. He was defeated for reelection in 1864, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election to Congress in 1866.[1]

He later was a delegate to the Union National Convention held in Philadelphia in 1868, and to the 1872 Democratic National Convention. In 1872 he was selected as a member of the Democratic National Committee. He served until 1876[1] and received credit for helping Samuel J. Tilden receive that year's Democratic nomination for president.

He was an honorary commissioner to the World's Exposition in Paris in 1867 and that in Vienna in 1873.[1]

His house in Portland, the McLellan-Sweat Mansion, was later adapted for use as the Portland Museum of Art, following a bequest by his wife. Today it is a National Historic Landmark.

His body is interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, Maine.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Sweat, Lorenzo De Medici 1818–1898". Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  2. Barry, William David (1986). "John Neal 1793–1876". In Shettlewoth, Earle G. Jr.; Roger G., Reed (eds.). A Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Maine. Vol. 3. Augusta, Maine: Maine Historic Preservation Commission. p. 2.
  3. Gallant, Chris (November 20, 2012). "Margaret Jane Mussey-Sweat". The Portland Daily Sun. Portland, Maine.
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