Monday, May 6, 2019
Amos Ellmaker
Amos Ellmaker, February 2, 1787 (Leacock Township, Penn.) - November 28, 1851 (Lancaster, Penn.)
VP candidate for Anti-Masonic Party 1832
Running mate with nominee: William Wirt (1772-1834)
Popular vote: 100,715 (7.78%) (Pennsylvania fusion votes for Clay and Wirt were counted for Wirt,
accounting for 66,706 of these votes)
Electoral vote: 7/286 (Vermont)
The campaign: As the name implies, the Anti-Masonic Party started as a single-issue movement chiefly in the North, but later embraced a strong protective tariff platform. They have two firsts-- America's first major third party, and they held the first political party nominating convention in the U.S. (Sept. 1831 in Baltimore). Appealing to those who opposed the policies of President Jackson, as well as anti-elitists and conspiracy buffs, this party elected governors and congressmen throughout the 1830s. Among their number were future Whigs John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, Thaddeus Stevens, and William Seward. The Wirt/Ellmaker ticket won Vermont with over 40%, and polled a strong third place in Massachusetts (21.73%) and Connecticut (10.38%) but had no impact on the outcome where the popular Andrew Jackson was re-elected overwhelmingly.
Election history:
1813-1814, Pennsylvania House of Representatives (Democratic-Republican)
1814, US House Representative (Penn.) but did not serve
1834, US Senate (Penn.) (Anti-Masonic) - defeated
Other occupations: attorney, Deputy Attorney General for Dauphin County, Penn., Pennsylvania Attorney General, soldier in War of 1812, judge.
Buried: Saint James Episcopal Church Cemetery, Lancaster, Penn.
Notes:
Ellmaker turned down offers to serve as Sec. of War (under Monroe), as a Justice for the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
His victorious opponent during the 1834 election for the US Senate was James Buchanan.
Amos Ellmaker is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list "Famous People Named Amos" in Ranker.
Mr. Beat in Youtube calls Ellmaker "A hipster way before it was hip," probably based on his portrait.