Samuel Williams Inge

Samuel Williams Inge (February 22, 1817 – June 10, 1868) was an American politician, lawyer, and member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama. A Democrat, he served two terms in Congress during a significant period in American history, participating in the national legislative process and representing the interests of his Alabama constituents.

Inge was born on February 22, 1817, in Warren County, North Carolina. During his youth he moved to Greene County, Alabama, where he attended the public schools. He pursued legal studies and, after reading law in the customary manner of the time, was admitted to the bar. Following his admission, he established himself professionally in what was then a developing region of the state.

Inge commenced the practice of law in Livingston, in Sumter County, Alabama. His legal work brought him into public life, and he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives, serving in that body in 1844 and 1845. In the state legislature he gained experience in lawmaking and party politics, which helped position him for national office as a member of the Democratic Party.

Inge was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses, representing Alabama in the United States House of Representatives. He served from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1851. His tenure in Congress coincided with the era of the Mexican–American War and the mounting sectional tensions that would later culminate in the Civil War. During the Thirty-first Congress he held a significant leadership role as chairman of the United States House Committee on the District of Columbia, giving him influence over legislation affecting the federal capital. While serving in Congress, he became involved in a notable personal and political conflict that led to a duel with Edward Stanly, a Representative from North Carolina, at Bladensburg near Washington, D.C.; the encounter, though serious in intent, left neither participant seriously injured.

After leaving Congress in 1851, Inge resumed the practice of law. His legal and political reputation extended beyond Alabama, and on April 1, 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him United States attorney for the northern district of California. In this federal post, Inge played a role in administering justice in California during a period of rapid growth and transformation following the Gold Rush. Remaining active in Democratic Party affairs, he led the California delegation to the 1856 National Democratic Convention in Cincinnati. There he cast all of California’s votes for James Buchanan for President and supported the party’s endorsement of establishing safe and speedy communication throughout California between the East and West Coasts, reflecting the state’s strategic importance in national expansion and transportation.

Inge spent his later years in California, continuing his legal and political involvement until his death. He died in San Francisco, California, on June 10, 1868. He was originally interred at Calvary Cemetery in San Francisco. When that cemetery was later closed and remains were relocated, his body was moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California, where he is now buried.