Ben Franklin Caldwell was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

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Born near Carrollton, Illinois

Carrollton, Illinois

Carrollton is a city in Greene County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,605 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greene County.-Geography:Carrollton is located at ....

, Caldwell moved to Illinois in April 1853 with his parents, who settled near Chatham, Illinois

Chatham, Illinois

Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,500 as of the 2010 census. The village lies along the original alignment of historic U.S...

. He attended the public schools, and thereafter engaged in agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 pursuits. He served as member of the Board of Supervisors of Sangamon County in 1877 and 1878. He served as member of the Illinois House of Representatives

Illinois House of Representatives

The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...

 1882-1886, and served in the Illinois Senate

Illinois Senate

The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...

 1890-1894.

Upon his election to Congress in 1898, he resigned the presidency of the Farmers' National Bank of Springfield, which office he had held since 1885. He also served as president of the Caldwell State Bank of Chatham.

Caldwell was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Fifty-sixth

56th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...

, Fifty-seventh

57th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:*Democratic: 151*Republican: 200 *Populist: 5*Silver : 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Theodore Roosevelt , until September 14, 1901, vacant thereafter....

, and Fifty-eighth

58th United States Congress

- House of Representatives :* Republican : 209 * Democratic : 176* Silver Republican : 1TOTAL members: 386-Senate:* President: Vacant* President pro tempore: William P. Frye -Members:...

 Congresses (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1905). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress

59th United States Congress

The Fifty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1905 to March 4, 1907, during the fifth and sixth...

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Caldwell was elected to the Sixtieth Congress

60th United States Congress

The Sixtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907 to March 4, 1909, during the last two years of...

 (March 4, 1907-March 3, 1909). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1908. He again engaged in banking in Chatham, Illinois

Chatham, Illinois

Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,500 as of the 2010 census. The village lies along the original alignment of historic U.S...

. He died in Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

, on December 29, 1924. He was interred in Oak Ridge Cemetery

Oak Ridge Cemetery

Oak Ridge Cemetery is a cemetery located in Springfield, Illinois in the United States.Lincoln's Tomb, which serves as the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of his children, is located at Oak Ridge...

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