James N. Buffum

James Needham Buffum[1]
14th Mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts
In office January 1, 1872[1] – January 6, 1873
Preceded by	Edwin Walden
Succeeded by	Jacob M. Lewis
12th Mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts
In office January 4, 1869[1] – January 3, 1870[1]
Preceded by	Roland G. Usher
Succeeded by	Edwin Walden
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives[2][3]
In office 1873 – 1873[2]
Personal details
Born	May 16, 1807[1] North Berwick, Maine[4]
Died	June 12, 1887(1887-06-12) (aged 80)[1][3] Lynn, Massachusetts[3]
Signature

James Needham Buffum (May 16, 1807 – June 12, 1887) was a Massachusetts politician who served as the 12th and 14th Mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts.

Early life

Buffum was born in North Berwick, Maine on May 16, 1807^[1][4] to Samuel and Hannah (Varney) Bufum.^[2]

Career

Buffum was the Mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts from 1869 to 1870 and from 1872 to 1873. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was a presidential elector in 1868.^[5]

Abolitionist

When Frederick Douglass was dragged out of a train car on the Eastern Railroad, Buffum helped Douglass fight off the mob.^[4] In 1845 Buffum went to Scotland with Douglass to protest against the Free Church of Scotland keeping money donated from American slave holders.^[4]

Death

Buffum died on June 12, 1887 and is interred at Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn, Massachusetts.^[6]

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1888), History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1, Issue 1, Philadelphia, PA: J. W. Lewis & CO., p. 261. 
2. 1 2 3 Essex Institute (1889), Bulletin of the Essex Institute, Volume XX, Salem, MA: Essex Institute; printed by the Salem Press and Printing Co., p. 156. 
3. 1 2 3 The New York Times (June 13, 1887), JAMES N. BUFFUM DEAD.; A COLLEAGUE OF GARRISON AND PHILLIPS AND A FRIEND OF DOUGLASS., New York, NY: New York Times Company, p. 1. 
4. 1 2 3 4 Friends' Intelligencer United with The Friends' Journal (June 18, 1887), JAMES N. BUFFUM, Philadelphia, PA: Friends' Intelligencer Association, Limited, p. 398. 
5. ↑ "James N. Buffum". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved September 26, 2012. 
6. ↑ "James N. Buffum". Find A Grave. Retrieved September 26, 2012. 

External links

• New York Times obituary; June 13, 1888.
• James N. Buffum at Find a Grave
• Massachusetts Historical Society
• The Political Graveyard