Senator Charles William Cathcart

Charles William Cathcart (July 24, 1809 – August 22, 1888) was a 19th-century American politician who served as both a United States Representative and a United States Senator from Indiana. A member of the Democratic Party, he contributed to the legislative process in Congress during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his constituents in both houses of the national legislature.

Cathcart was born in Funchal, on Madeira Island, Portugal, where his father, James Leander Cathcart, served as the United States consul. During his childhood he traveled with his parents to Spain and attended private schools there, receiving much of his early education abroad. In 1819 he returned to the United States and went to sea, spending part of his youth in maritime pursuits before turning to public service and land administration.

In 1830 Cathcart moved to Washington, D.C., where he became a clerk in the United States General Land Office, gaining experience in federal land policy and administration. He subsequently relocated to Indiana, settling in New Durham Township, where in 1833 he served as a justice of the peace. By 1837 he had moved near La Porte, Indiana, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. At the same time he worked as a United States land surveyor, a role that complemented his earlier service in the General Land Office and connected him closely to the development and settlement of Indiana’s public lands.

Cathcart’s formal political career in Indiana began with his election to the Indiana Senate, in which he served from 1837 to 1840. As a state senator he participated in shaping policy for a rapidly growing state in the Old Northwest, building the legislative experience and local prominence that would later support his election to national office. His combination of agricultural interests, surveying work, and legislative service positioned him as a representative of both frontier development and Democratic Party priorities in the antebellum era.

At the national level, Cathcart was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses, serving as a United States Representative from Indiana from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1849. During these two terms in the House of Representatives, he took part in the deliberations of a Congress that confronted issues such as territorial expansion and the political tensions preceding the Compromise of 1850. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, and as a member of the House he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Indiana constituents.

Following his House service, Cathcart entered the United States Senate. He was appointed as a Senator from Indiana to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator James Whitcomb and served from December 6, 1852, to January 18, 1853. Although his tenure in the Senate was brief, it placed him among the small number of Indiana politicians of his era who served in both chambers of Congress. In this role, Charles William Cathcart continued his participation in national legislative affairs as a member of the Democratic Party, contributing to the work of the Senate during the closing years of the antebellum decade.

After leaving the Senate, Cathcart returned to private life in Indiana. He remained active in politics as a Democrat and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1860 to the Thirty-seventh Congress, seeking to return to the House of Representatives on the eve of the Civil War. Following this defeat, he devoted himself primarily to agricultural pursuits on his farm near La Porte, maintaining his connection to the rural community that had long formed the base of his public career.

Charles William Cathcart died on his farm near La Porte, Indiana, on August 22, 1888. He was interred in Pine Lake Cemetery in La Porte. His career, spanning service as a state legislator, United States Representative, and United States Senator, reflected the trajectory of a 19th-century American public servant whose work linked local agricultural interests with the broader concerns of national governance.