David S. Kaufman - Biography

David Spangler Kaufman (December 18, 1813 – January 31, 1851) was a U.S. Representative from Texas. He was the first Jew elected to Congress from Texas.

Early life and education

Born in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania to German Jewish parents, Kaufman pursued classical studies and was graduated from Princeton College in 1833.

He studied law and was admitted to the bar in Natchez, Mississippi. He commenced practice in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Attracted by the developing country in the Southwest, Kaufman moved to Nacogdoches, Republic of Texas, in 1837.

Military service

He served in the military against the Native Americans and was wounded at the Battle of the Neches.

Public service

He served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives 1838-1843. He served in the Texas Senate 1843-1845. He was appointed Chargé d'Affaires of Texas to the United States in 1845.

Upon the admission of Texas as a State into the Union, Kaufman was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-ninth Congress. He was reelected to the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses and served from March 30, 1846, until 1851. He served as chairman of the Committee on Rules (Thirty-first Congress).

Death

Kaufman died from a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on January 31, 1851. Kaufman was originally interred in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. In 1932 he was reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery at Austin, Texas, in 1932.

Fraternal memberships

• Freemasons
• The Philosophical Society of Texas

Legacy and honors

• Kaufman County, Texas was named after him.

Source

External links

• The Handbook of Texas Online: Kaufman, Texas