LaFayette "Fayette" McMullen (May 18, 1805 – November 8, 1880) was a 19th-century politician, driver, teamster and banker from the U.S. state of Virginia and the second appointed Governor of Washington Territory.

LaFayette McMullen
2nd Governor of Washington Territory
In office
September 10, 1857 – July 15, 1859
Preceded byIsaac Stevens
Succeeded byRichard D. Gholson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 13th district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 4, 1857
Preceded byAndrew S. Fulton
Succeeded byGeorge W. Hopkins
Member of the Virginia Senate
In office
1839–1849
Personal details
Born(1805-05-18)May 18, 1805
Estillville, Virginia, US
DiedNovember 8, 1880(1880-11-08) (aged 75)
Wytheville, Virginia, US
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMary Wood McMullen
ProfessionPolitician, truck driver, teamster, banker

Early life and family

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Born in Estillville, Virginia, McMullen attended private schools as a child. He was a Virginia driver and teamster, working in the family owned business and driving a coach. He married Mary (Polly) Wood, daughter of the sheriff, in 1826. They had no children.[1]

Career

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McMullen became a member of the Senate of Virginia in 1839, serving until 1849. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1848, serving from 1849 to 1857. There, McMullen served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy from 1851 to 1855 and chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings from 1855 to 1857. McMullen was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852 and 1856.

McMullen was appointed by President James Buchanan, as Territorial Governor of Washington in 1857, serving until 1859.

McMullen was elected as a Democrat to the Confederate House of Representatives in 1863, serving from 1864 until the crumbling of the Confederacy in 1865. Afterwards, he engaged in agricultural and banking pursuits and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Virginia in 1878.

Death

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McMullen died in a train accident on November 8, 1880, in Wytheville, Virginia, and is interred at Round Hill Cemetery in Marion, Virginia.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Fayette McMullen". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Fayette McMullen". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 9 October 2012.

Further reading

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 13th congressional district

March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1857 (obsolete district)
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Territorial Governor of Washington
1857–1859
Succeeded by
Confederate States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the C.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia

February 18, 1864 – May 10, 1865
Succeeded by
(none)