John Upfold Pettit

John Upfold Pettit was born on September 11, 1820 in Fabius, New York. He attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1839. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1841, and began his law practice in Wabash, Indiana. He became involved in politics, and then served as the American consul in Maranha᷉o, Brazil from 1850 to 1853. He was a judge in the 11th Circuit from 1853 to 1854, and then in 1854 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1855 to 1861. With the start of the Civil War, he joined the Army and served as a colonel in the 75th Indiana Volunteers. In 1864, he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives for one term, serving as Speaker of the House. From 1869 to 1870, he was a professor of law at Indiana University, Bloomington. He then returned to his law practice and served as judge with the 22nd and 27th circuits. Judge Pettit died on March 21, 1881 in Wabash, Indiana. He was interred in the Falls Cemetery in Wabash.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/formerfaculty/1057/thumbnail.jp