Thomas Ara SPENCE, Congress, MD (1810-1877)

SPENCE, Thomas Ara, (nephew of John Selby Spence), a Representative from Maryland; born near Accomac Court House, Accomac County, Va., February 20, 1810; pursued academic studies and attended a local academy; was graduated from Yale College in 1829; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice at Snow Hill, Md.; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1845); was not a candidate for renomination; later affiliated with the Republican Party; owned large iron-ore properties in Worcester County; judge for Worcester County and the twelfth judicial circuit 1857-1867; practiced law in Salisbury, Wicomico County, Md.; assistant attorney general for the Post Office Department 1872-1877; died in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 1877; interment in Makamie Memorial Church Cemetery, Snow Hill, Worcester County, Md.

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