Lawyer/Politician
Centurion, 1850–1874
Born 4 April 1818 in Washington, District of Columbia
Died 31 December 1874 in New York (Queens), New York
Buried Congressional Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia
Proposed by Russell Smith
Elected 2 November 1850 at age thirty-two
Archivist’s Note: Father of James M. Varnum
Proposer of:
Century Memorial
Among us, too, Joseph Varnum, open as frankness itself, and acute and observant with all his bonhommie, showed how energy and usefulness in public service spring naturally from the plain candor, the honest purpose, the zeal for right, that made his discriminating friendship prized.
Augustus R. Macdonough
1875 Century Association Reports