Preceded by William Wilkins Resting place Allegheny Cemetery Died December 22, 1854 Succeeded by Moses Hampton Nationality American Parents John Darragh | Preceded by James Cooper Name Cornelius Darragh Succeeded by Thomas E. Franklin Role Lawyer Resigned March 3, 1847 | |
Education University of Pittsburgh | ||
Cornelius Darragh (1809 – December 22, 1854) was a Pennsylvania lawyer and politician. He served as a state Senator, a U. S. District Attorney, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and state Attorney General.
Personal life and career
Cornelius Darragh was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of John Darragh, Jr. and Margaret "Peggy" Calhoun, one of six children. He attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, and graduated with the class of 1826. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1829 and commenced practice in Pittsburgh. In 1830, he married Mary Holmes Simpson. They had two daughters, Margaret Calhoun and Elizabeth Simpson.
He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1836 to 1839. He was United States district attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania from 1841 to 1844. Darragh was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Wilkins. He was reelected to the Twenty-ninth Congress. He served as attorney general of Pennsylvania from January 4, 1849, to April 28, 1851.
Darragh died in Pittsburgh in 1854 and was interred in Allegheny Cemetery. Darragh Street, near the Upper Campus of the University of Pittsburgh, is named for him and/or his father.