US Congressman. He was born in New York City on April 10, 1828, the son of Abijah Otis Houghton and Eliza Farrand. He attended Collegiate Institute, New York. Houghton served during the Mexican War, enlisting in the First Regiment, New York Volunteers (Stevenson’s Regiment) in June 1846 and was honorably discharged in Monterey, California in October 1848. After his discharge, he moved to San Jose, California where he served as Deputy Clerk of the State Supreme Court in 1854, and Mayor of San Jose, California in 1855 and 1856. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857 and started a law practice in San Jose. Houghton was commissioned Captain and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during the Civil War and served successfully as inspector and ordnance officer. He married Mary Martha Donner (1839-1860) on August 23, 1859 in San Jose, California. A widower, he then married Eliza Poor Donner (1843-1922), a Donner Party survivor who chronicled the early years of the state on October 10, 1861 in Sacramento, California. A Republican, he was elected to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1875), Chairman of the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures (Forty-third Congress), was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress, and was appointed Commissioner to investigate the affairs of the United States Mint at San Francisco in 1881. Houghton moved to Los Angeles in 1886 and continued practicing law. They named the Liberty Ship, S.S. Sherman O. Houghton after him. He died in Compton, Los Angeles County, California on August 31, 1914 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.
US Congressman. He was born in New York City on April 10, 1828, the son of Abijah Otis Houghton and Eliza Farrand. He attended Collegiate Institute, New York. Houghton served during the Mexican War, enlisting in the First Regiment, New York Volunteers (Stevenson’s Regiment) in June 1846 and was honorably discharged in Monterey, California in October 1848. After his discharge, he moved to San Jose, California where he served as Deputy Clerk of the State Supreme Court in 1854, and Mayor of San Jose, California in 1855 and 1856. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857 and started a law practice in San Jose. Houghton was commissioned Captain and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during the Civil War and served successfully as inspector and ordnance officer. He married Mary Martha Donner (1839-1860) on August 23, 1859 in San Jose, California. A widower, he then married Eliza Poor Donner (1843-1922), a Donner Party survivor who chronicled the early years of the state on October 10, 1861 in Sacramento, California. A Republican, he was elected to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1875), Chairman of the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures (Forty-third Congress), was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress, and was appointed Commissioner to investigate the affairs of the United States Mint at San Francisco in 1881. Houghton moved to Los Angeles in 1886 and continued practicing law. They named the Liberty Ship, S.S. Sherman O. Houghton after him. He died in Compton, Los Angeles County, California on August 31, 1914 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.
Bio by: Debbie
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