Darwin Phelps was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

Biography

Darwin Phelps was born in East Granby, Connecticut

East Granby, Connecticut

East Granby is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was estimated at 5,058 in 2005. The town recently celebrated its 150th anniversary with a three-day festival on June 7, 8, and 9, 2008.-Geography:...

. He was left an orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

 at an early age and went to live with his grandparents in Portage, Ohio

Portage, Ohio

Portage is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States. The population was 428 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Portage is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....

, where he completed preparatory studies. He attended Western University

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

.

He studied law in Pittsburgh, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Kittanning, Pennsylvania

Kittanning, Pennsylvania

Kittanning is a borough and the county seat of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name means "at the great stream" in the Delaware language...

, in 1835. He was a member of the board of trustees of Kittanning Academy, a member of the town council in 1841 and 1848, and burgess in 1844, 1845, 1849, 1852, 1855, 1858, 1859, and 1861. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for auditor general in 1856. He was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention

1860 Republican National Convention

The 1860 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States, held in Chicago, Illinois at the Wigwam, nominated former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for President and U.S. Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President...

.

Phelps served as major of the Twenty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, in 1862. He was member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1865.

Phelps was elected as a Republican to the Forty-first

41st United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President : Schuyler Colfax* President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James G. Blaine -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

 Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1870

United States House election, 1870

The U.S. House election, 1870 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1870 which occurred in the middle of President Ulysses S...

. He died in Kittanning in 1879. Interment in Kittanning Cemetery.