Edward Kavanagh

{{Short description|Governor of Maine (1795–1844)}} {{for-multi|the New Zealand rugby union and cricket player|Edward Kavanagh (sportsman)|the Australian politician|Edward Kavanagh (Australian politician)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name =Edward Kavanagh | image = Edward Kavanagh (Maine Governor).jpg | caption =Governor Edward Kavanagh. From 1893's "Representative Men of Maine". |order = Member of the <br /> U.S. House of Representatives<br />from Maine's 3rd district |term_start= March 4, 1831 |term_end = March 3, 1835 |preceded = Joseph F. Wingate |succeeded = Jeremiah Bailey | order2 =Chargé d'Affaires to Portugal | term_start2 =March 3, 1835 | term_end2 = June 1841 | predecessor2 =Thomas L. L. Brent | successor2 =Washington Barrow | order3 = |title3=17th Governor of Maine | term_start3 =March 7, 1843 | term_end3 = January 1, 1844 | predecessor3 =John Fairfield | successor3 = David Dunn | order4 =19th President of the Maine Senate | term_start4 =1843 | term_end4 = 1843 | predecessor4 =Samuel Blake | successor4 = Virgil D. Parris | order5 =Member of the<br />Maine Senate | term_start5 =1842 | term_end5 = 1843 | predecessor5 = | successor5 = | order6 =Member of the<br />Maine House of Representatives | term_start6 = 1826 | term_end6 = 1828 | predecessor6 = | successor6 = | birth_date ={{Birth date|1795|4|27}} | birth_place =Newcastle, District of Maine, Massachusetts, US | death_date ={{death date and age|1844|1|22|1795|4|27}} | death_place = Newcastle, Maine, US | resting_place= St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, Damariscotta Mills, Maine | party =Democrat | relations = | children = | alma_mater =Montreal Seminary, Georgetown College, St. Mary's College | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Edward Kavanagh''' (April 27, 1795 – January 22, 1844) was a United States representative and the 17th governor of Maine. Born in Newcastle in the Massachusetts District of Maine to Irish Catholic immigrants from County Wexford.<ref name="Glazier 1999 p. 550">{{cite book|last=Eagan|first=Eileen|editor-last=Glazier|editor-first=Michael|title=The Encyclopedia of the Irish in America|year=1999|chapter=Maine|place=Notre Dame, IN|publisher=University of Notre Dame Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofir0000unse/page/550 550]|isbn=978-0268027551|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofir0000unse/page/550}}</ref><ref name="Rolde pp. 172–173">{{cite book|last=Rolde|first=Neal|title=Maine: A Narrative History|year=1990|publisher=Harpswell Press|location=Gardiner, ME|isbn=0-88448-069-0|pages=172–173}}</ref> He later attended Montreal Seminary (in Quebec, Canada) and Georgetown College in Washington. He graduated from St. Mary's College (Baltimore) in 1813.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Edward Kavanagh}}</ref> He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Damariscotta, Maine. He was a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1826 to 1828, and was secretary of the state senate in 1830.<ref>{{CongBio|K000022|inline=1}}</ref>

Kavanagh's public career began with a plea to the framers of the Maine Constitution to include an article for official religious toleration. His first elected role was on the school committee, followed by roles as selectman, state representative, and state senator. In 1829 the legislature elected him as secretary of state.

Kavanagh was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1835. He was nationally noticed as the first Catholic elected from New England.<ref name="Rolde pp. 172–173" /> He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress, and was appointed Chargé d'Affaires to Portugal on March 3, 1835, and served until his resignation in June 1841. He was one of the four Maine commissioners on the northeastern boundary in 1842 in the negotiations that led to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, and was a member of the Maine Senate in 1842 and 1843 and served as the president of the Maine Senate.

==Governor of Maine== Kavanagh became Governor of Maine upon the election of Governor Fairfield on March 7, 1843, to replace U.S. Senator Reuel Williams upon William's resignation, and served until the end of the term in 1844. Less than four weeks later, Kavanagh died in Newcastle; interment was in St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, Damariscotta Mills.

Kavanagh's house in Newcastle has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

==Electoral history== {{Election box begin no change| title=Maine's 3rd congressional district election, 1830<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - ME District 3 - 2nd Trial Race - Nov 22, 1830 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=723912 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=26 November 2024}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change |party = Jacksonian Party |candidate = Edward Kavanagh |votes = 2,164 |percentage = 52.77 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change |party = National Republican Party |candidate = Moses Shaw |votes = 1,707 |percentage = 41.62 }} {{Election box candidate no change |party = Unknown |candidate = Parker McCobb |votes = 230 |percentage = 5.61 }} {{Election box total no change |votes = 4,101 |percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box gain with party link no swing |winner = Jacksonian Party |loser = Adams Party}} {{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change| title=Maine's 3rd congressional district election, 1833<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - ME District 3 Race - Sep 09, 1833 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=723437 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=26 November 2024}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change |party = Democratic Party (US) |candidate = Edward Kavanagh (incumbent) |votes = 3,063 |percentage = 56.22 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change |party = National Republican Party |candidate = Jeremiah Bailey |votes = 2,044 |percentage = 37.52 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change |party = Anti-Masonic Party |candidate = John McKown |votes = 341 |percentage = 6.26 }} {{Election box total no change |votes = 5,448 |percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box hold with party link no swing |winner = Democratic Party (United States) }} {{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change| title=Maine's 3rd congressional district election, 1834<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - ME District 3 Race - Sep 08, 1834 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=723438 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=26 November 2024}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change |party = Whig Party (United States) |candidate = Jeremiah Bailey |votes = 4,240 |percentage = 52.88 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change |party = Democratic Party (US) |candidate = Edward Kavanagh (incumbent) |votes = 3,778 |percentage = 47.12 }} {{Election box total no change |votes = 8,018 |percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box gain with party link no swing |winner = Whig Party (United States) |loser = Democratic Party (United States)}} {{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change | title=Maine gubernatorial election, 1843<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - ME Governor Race - Sep 11, 1843 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=222344 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=26 November 2024}}</ref>| }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = Hugh J. Anderson |votes = 32,034 |percentage = 50.25 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Whig Party (United States) |candidate = Edward Robinson |votes = 20,975 |percentage = 32.90 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Liberty Party (United States, 1840) |candidate = James Appleton |votes = 6,746 |percentage = 10.58 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Independent Democrat |candidate = Edward Kavanagh (incumbent) |votes = 3,221 |percentage = 5.05 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = |candidate = Scattering |votes = 770 |percentage = 1.22 }} {{Election box total no change| |votes = 63,746 |percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box hold with party link no change| |winner= Democratic Party (United States) }} {{Election box end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Find a Grave|7232765}} *[http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_maine/col2-content/main-content-list/title_kavanagh_edward.html Edward Kavanagh biography] at ''National Governors Association''

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Maine | district=3 | before=Joseph F. Wingate | after=Jeremiah Bailey | years=March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1835}} {{s-off}} {{succession box| before=John Fairfield |title=Governor of Maine |years=March 7, 1843–1844| after=David Dunn }} {{succession box |before=Samuel Blake |years= 1843–1843 |after=Virgil D. Parris |title=President of the Maine Senate }} {{s-dip}} {{Succession box|title=Chargé d'Affaires to Portugal|before=Thomas L. L. Brent |after=Washington Barrow |years=March 3, 1835 – June 1841}} {{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Edward}} Category:1795 births Category:1844 deaths Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal Category:Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Category:19th-century American diplomats Category:Presidents of the Maine Senate Category:Democratic Party Maine state senators Category:Democratic Party governors of Maine Category:People from Damariscotta, Maine Category:St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni Category:Maine Democratic-Republicans Category:Jacksonian United States representatives from Maine Category:People from Newcastle, Maine Category:Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Maine Legislature Category:Maine select board members Category:School board members in Maine