Benjamin Champneys

Not to be confused with the painter Benjamin Champney.

Benjamin Champneys
Portrait by Jacob Eichholtz, c. 1830
Pennsylvania State Senator
In office 1843 – 46, 1863 – 66
Pennsylvania State Representative
In office 1825 – 26, 1828 – 29, 1863
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office December 18, 1846 – July 31, 1848
Governor	Francis R. Shunk
Preceded by	John M. Read
Succeeded by	James Cooper
Personal details
Born	(1800-01-00)January , 1800 Bridgeton, New Jersey
Died	August 9, 1871(1871-08-09) (aged 71) Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Spouse	Elizabeth Bachman
Alma mater	Princeton College
Occupation	Judge, lawyer, legislator

Benjamin Champneys (January 1800 – August 9, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and judge, who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania Senate and as Pennsylvania State Attorney General.

Early life and education

Champneys was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey to Dr. Benjamin Champneys, a surgeon who served in the Navy, and Sarah Potter. His ancestors moved from England to the Province of New Jersey along with John Fenwick, the grantee of the province. The family lived in Bridgeton, New Jersey while Champneys attended Princeton College for two years, but moved upon the death of his father in 1814. He studied law in Trenton under Chief Justice Charles Ewing. He moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and completed his legal studies under Judge George Bryan Porter, the future Territorial Governor of Michigan. He was admitted to the Lancaster County bar in 1818.

Career

Champneys worked as Deputy District Attorney for Mayor's Court from 1824 to 1830. He was elected as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1825 and 1828. He was appointed Deputy Attorney General for Lancaster County by Governor David R. Porter and served from 1830 to 1833. He served as President Judge of the Second Judicial District in 1839. He was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate for the 6th district and served from 1843 to 1845. He was appointed state Attorney General by Governor Francis R. Shunk and served from 1846 to 1848.

With the onset of the Civil War, he switched parties. In 1863, he served again in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Lancaster County. He served again in the Pennsylvania Senate for the 16th district from 1864 to 1865 and for the 17th district from 1865 to 1866.

He died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and is interred at the Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster.

Personal life

Champneys married Elizabeth Bachman in 1821. A daughter, Elizabeth, would marry a same-named great-grandson of William Augustus Atlee.

Further reading

Family details are in

• "(quoted link)". Reading Eagle. March 8, 1899. p. 3.
• Beal, Rebecca J. (1969). Jacob Eichholtz 1776–1842: Portrait Painter of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
• Johnston, Elizabeth Bryant (1892). Lineage Book: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Vol. 2. Washington, DC.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• Brubaker, Henry Clay; Landis, Charles Israel; Eshleman, George Ross; Arnold, Issac Clinton (Oct 6, 1913). "Legal Miscellany: Benjamin Champneys". Lancaster Law Review. XXX (49): 390–1.
• "Pennsylvania State Senate: Benjamin Champneys". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
• "Index to Members of the House of Representatives - 1790-2004". The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
• "Index to Members of the Senate - 1790-1869". The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Retrieved 2015-05-14.