Ebenezer Knowlton

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title: "Ebenezer Knowlton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1815-births", "1874-deaths", "19th-century-baptist-ministers-from-the-united-states", "activists-from-new-hampshire", "american-abolitionists", "american-temperance-activists", "baptist-abolitionists", "bates-college-people", "free-will-baptists", "republican-party-members-of-the-maine-house-of-representatives", "opposition-party-united-states-representatives-from-maine", "people-from-montville,-maine", "people-from-pittsfield,-new-hampshire", "south-carolina-republicans", "speakers-of-the-maine-house-of-representatives", "united-states-representatives-from-maine", "19th-century-united-states-representatives", "19th-century-members-of-the-maine-legislature"] description: "American politician" topic_path: "people/1810s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Knowlton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Ebenezer Knowlton
image	Ebenezer Knowlton founder of Bates College.jpg
order	Member of U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 3rd district
term_start	March 4, 1855
term_end	March 3, 1857
predecessor	E. Wilder Farley
successor	Nehemiah Abbott
order2	18th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives
term_start2	1846
term_end2	1847
predecessor2	Moses Macdonald
successor2	Hugh Dean McLellan
order3	Member of the
Maine House of Representatives
term_start3	1844
term_end3	1850
birth_date
birth_place	Pittsfield, New Hampshire, United States
death_date
death_place	South Montville, Maine, US
occupation	Minister, Congressman
party	Opposition Party
otherparty	Republican Party
::

| name = Ebenezer Knowlton | image = Ebenezer Knowlton founder of Bates College.jpg | order =Member of U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 3rd district | term_start = March 4, 1855 | term_end = March 3, 1857 | predecessor =E. Wilder Farley | successor =Nehemiah Abbott | order2 =18th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives | term_start2 = 1846 | term_end2 = 1847 | predecessor2 =Moses Macdonald | successor2 =Hugh Dean McLellan | order3 =Member of the Maine House of Representatives | term_start3 = 1844 | term_end3 = 1850 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | birth_date = | birth_place = Pittsfield, New Hampshire, United States | death_date = | death_place = South Montville, Maine, US | occupation = Minister, Congressman | party = Opposition Party |otherparty =Republican Party | spouse = | children = | residence = | alma_mater = | website = | signature = Ebenezer Knowlton (December 6, 1815 – September 10, 1874) was a U.S. representative from Maine, and Free Will Baptist minister.

Biography

Born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, Knowlton moved with his parents to South Montville, Maine, in 1825. He attended the China and Waterville Academies in Maine. He studied theology and entered the ministry as a Free Will Baptist.

Career

Knowlton served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1844 to 1850, and served as speaker in 1846. Knowlton was elected as an Opposition Party (a party transitioning between the Whigs and Republicans) candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857.{{cite web|url= http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ebenezer_knowlton/406450 |title= Rep. Ebenezer Knowlton |publisher= govtrack.us |access-date=August 26, 2012}} He became an early member of the Republican Party and was a lifelong supporter of abolitionism and the temperance movement.

Knowlton served as trustee of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Knowlton also served as a trustee of Colby College and Maine Central Institute, and after the Civil War he worked for the Freedmen's Bureau in Beaufort, South Carolina.

He was a corporator of the Morning Star, a Free Will Baptist newspaper, and was president of the Foreign Missions Board. Knowlton continued his ministerial duties until his death.

Death

Knowlton died in South Montville, Maine on September 10, 1874.

References

References

1. "Knowlton, Ebenezer, (1815 - 1874)". Biographical Directory of the United StatesCongress.

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