Representative Lewis Condict

Lewis Condict (March 3, 1772 – May 26, 1862) was a physician and United States Representative from New Jersey who served nine terms in Congress during a formative period in American political history. Born in Morristown in the Province of New Jersey, he was a nephew of Silas Condict, a Continental Congressman from New Jersey, and grew up in a milieu closely connected to the early political life of the new nation. He attended the common schools in his native town before pursuing formal medical training.

Condict studied medicine at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1794. Following his graduation, he returned to Morristown and commenced the practice of medicine, establishing himself as a physician in the community. His professional standing in the medical field grew steadily, and he later became the 24th president of the Medical Society of New Jersey. He held the presidency of the Medical Society in 1816 and again in 1819, reflecting his continued prominence in the state’s medical profession.

In addition to his medical career, Condict entered public service at an early date. He served as sheriff of Morris County from 1801 to 1803, an office that placed him at the center of local law enforcement and administration. In 1804 he was appointed a member of the commission for adjusting the boundary line between the States of New York and New Jersey, participating in the resolution of an important interstate issue. He then advanced to state-level legislative service as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1805 to 1809, and during the last two years of that tenure he served as speaker of the Assembly, demonstrating his growing influence in New Jersey politics.

Condict was first elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic-Republican, representing New Jersey in the Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Congresses from March 4, 1811, to March 3, 1817. As a member of the Republican Party tradition of that era, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period that included the War of 1812, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents. During the Fourteenth Congress he served as chairman of the Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business and as a member of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings, roles that involved oversight of pending legislation and federal expenditures.

After a brief interval out of Congress, Condict returned to national office when he was again elected as a Democratic-Republican in a special election to the Seventeenth Congress, and he was subsequently re-elected to the Eighteenth Congress. As party alignments shifted in the 1820s, he was re-elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses, aligning himself with the supporters of John Quincy Adams, and then as an Anti-Jacksonian candidate to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses. This extended service ran from October 9, 1821, to March 3, 1833, bringing his total House tenure to nine terms. Over these years he remained an active participant in the evolving party system and national debates of the early republic. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1832, thereby concluding his congressional career.

Condict’s public life continued after his departure from Congress. In 1827 he was elected a trustee of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), a position he held until 1861, when he resigned after more than three decades of service to the institution. He was one of the incorporators of the Morris and Essex Railroad Company and became its first president in 1835, helping to foster the development of transportation infrastructure in New Jersey. He served as president of the railroad until 1843, when he was succeeded by William Wright. Returning to state politics, he was again a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1837 and 1838, and once more served as speaker, reaffirming his long-standing leadership in state government.

In national politics beyond Congress, Condict remained engaged with the shifting party coalitions of the mid-nineteenth century. He served as a presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1840, participating in the election that brought William Henry Harrison to the presidency. On the eve of the Civil War, in 1860, his name appeared on the letter that issued the call for the Constitutional Union Party Convention, reflecting his support for efforts to preserve the Union through a moderate, compromise-oriented political movement. Lewis Condict died in Morristown, New Jersey, on May 26, 1862. He was interred in the cemetery of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, closing a long life marked by service in medicine, state and national politics, higher education, and early railroad development.