George O. Rathbun

Representative from New York from 1843 to 1847.

George O. Rathbun
Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	Romulus M. Saunders
Succeeded by	Joseph R. Ingersoll
Chair of the House Revolutionary Pensions Committee
In office 1843–1844
Preceded by	John Taliaferro
Succeeded by	David L. Seymour
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 25th district
In office March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	John Maynard
Succeeded by	Harmon S. Conger
Clerk of Supervisors of Cayuga County, New York
In office 1837–1841
Personal details
Born	(1802-10-16)October 16, 1802 Scipio, New York
Died	January 4, 1870(1870-01-04) (aged 67) Auburn, New York
Resting place	Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Eliza Treat Gould ​ (m. 1823)​
Parent(s)	Edward Rathbun Anna Fuller Rathbun
Education	Hamilton College
Profession	Attorney

Born in Scipioville, near Auburn, New York, the son of Edward and Anna Fuller Rathbun. He attended the Auburn schools, studied law, attained admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Auburn. He married Eliza Treat Gould on October 16, 1823.

A Democrat, he served as Clerk of the Cayuga County Board of Supervisors and was Auburn's Postmaster from 1837 to 1841.

Congress

Rathbun was elected to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1847.

During his first term, he was Chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions, and in his second he was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

On April 23, 1844, Rathbun was involved in a physical confrontation on the House floor with former Speaker John White. White, a Whig, was delivering a speech in defense of Senator Henry Clay, the Whig nominee for President in that year's presidential election, and objected to a ruling from the Speaker denying him time to conclude his remarks. When Rathbun told White to be quiet, White confronted him and their disagreement lead to a fistfight between the two with dozens of their colleagues rushing to break it up. During the disturbance, an unknown visitor fired a pistol into the crowd, wounding a police officer. Both Rathbun and White subsequently apologized for their actions.

Later career

Rathbun opposed slavery and later became involved with the Barnburners. He became a Republican when that party was founded in the 1850s.

He continued to practice law and was a Delegate to the 1867 New York constitutional convention.

Rathbun died in Auburn, New York on January 4, 1870. He was interred in Auburn's Fort Hill Cemetery.