Peter Dinwiddie WIGGINTON, Congress, CA (1839-1890)

WIGGINTON, Peter Dinwiddie, a Representative from California; born in Springfield, Sangamon County, Ill., September 6, 1839; moved to Wisconsin with his parents in 1843; completed preparatory studies and attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1859 and practiced; editor of the Dodgeville (Wis.) Advocate; moved to Snelling, Merced County, Calif., in 1862, and continued the practice of law; district attorney of Merced County 1864-1868; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877); successfully contested the election of Romualdo Pacheco to the Forty-fifth Congress (February 7, 1878-March 3, 1879); settled in San Francisco in 1880 and resumed the practice of law; nominated by the American Party as candidate for Vice President in 1888 in place of James R. Geer; died in Oakland, Calif., July 7, 1890; interment in Mountain View Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present