(February 12, 1813 — September 27, 1878) Benjamin Franklin Thomas, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Boston, Mass., February 12, 1813; moved with his parents to Worcester in 1819; attended Lancaster Academy, and was graduated from Brown University, Providence, R.I., in 1830; studied law in Cambridge, Mass.; was admitted to the bar in 1833 and commenced practice in Worcester, Mass.; held several local offices; member of the State house of representatives in 1842; commissioner of bankruptcy in 1842; judge of probate 1844-1848; presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1848; judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, when he resigned; continued the practice of law in Boston, Mass.; elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles F. Adams and served from June 11, 1861, to March 3, 1863; declined a renomination; again engaged in the practice of law; nominated by Governor Bullock for chief justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts in 1868, but the nomination was not confirmed by the council; died at his home in Beverly Farms, Mass., September 27, 1878; interment in Forrest Hill Cemetery, Boston, Mass. [Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/T000157]