Courtney Walker Hamlin was a U.S. representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 and cousin of William Edward Barton

William Edward Barton

William Edward Barton was a U.S. Representative from Missouri, cousin of Courtney Walker Hamlin.Born in Pickens District , South Carolina, BartonIn 1869 moved to Missouri with his parents, who settled in Crawford County, near Bourbon.He attended the public schools and the Steelville Normal and...

.

Early life

Hamlin was born in Brevard, North Carolina

Brevard, North Carolina

Brevard is a town in Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States. The 2005 population estimate by the United States Census Bureau was 6,643. It is the county seat of Transylvania County....

. In 1869 moved to Missouri with his parents, who settled in Leasburg

Leasburg, Missouri

Leasburg is a village in Crawford County, Missouri, United States. The population was 323 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Leasburg is located at ....

, Crawford County. He attended the common schools and Salem Academy, where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1882 and commenced practice in Bolivar, Missouri

Bolivar, Missouri

Bolivar is the county seat of Polk County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,325 at the 2010 census. The city was named for Bolivar, Tennessee, home to many of the original settlers, and like that city its name is pronounced to rhyme with Oliver...

.

Political career

Hamlin was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Fifty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1903-March 3, 1905). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress. Hamlin was elected to the Sixtieth and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1907-March 3, 1919). He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State (Sixty-second through Sixty-fifth Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1918.

Later life

He resumed the practice of law in Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri

Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

, until November 1935, when he retired and moved to Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

, where he died February 16, 1950. He was interred in East Lawn Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.