"Martin Van Ruin", failed to gain the nomination. On March 27, 1844, Orville Hungerford voted in favor of House of Representatives Bill No. 265, which would allow freemasons to incorporate a Grand Lodge in the District of Columbia. In a letter dated December 30, 1844, Orville Hungerford, who often clashed with Southern politicians, wrote to Watertown, N.Y. lawyer and N.Y. State Senator George C. Sherman, stating "The Rabid Texians started fiercely to drive annexation through without consulting the North, expecting us to swallow the doctrine avowed in the correspondence, that Slavery is right in the abstract. They however begin to discover that the whole nation is not disposed to swallow that doctrine, and again that all are not disposed to assume all the debts of that Territory." When Congress was in session in 1845, Hungerford boarded at Mrs. Hamilton's house off of Pennsylvania Avenue between 4½ and 6th Streets in Washington. By February 11, 1846, Hungerford moved his Congressional residence in the capitol to Mrs. Cudlipp's boarding house off of Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 4½ West Streets. Hungerford was unafraid of voicing his opinion even if unpopular with his fellow politicians from the same party. Throughout his life, Orville believed in finishing the task at hand before taking a break. When the U.S. House of Representatives conducted business Orville sat in his assigned seat towards the back of the chamber. Representative William Lowndes Yancey, the ardent Southern supporter of slavery, sat several seats over to the rear. Yancey was not to be trifled with in that he fought a duel with Thomas Lanier Clingman, a fellow member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressional Globe, which covered proceedings of the 29th Congress, noted on page 413 of Volume 15 the following relevant entry for February 21, 1846: Hungerford's clash with Congressman Yancey received regional newspaper coverage. For example, the Richmond Enquirer, a Virginia newspaper, published a summary of the incident on the front page, center column, of its February 27, 1846 morning issue. In 1846, Hungerford lost his Congressional seat to a Whig party candidate. Before the 29th Congress ended on March 3, 1847, Hungerford was able to manifest his disdain for slavery, which was dividing the nation. Crossing party lines Hungerford voted with the Whigs on February 16, 1847 and on March 3, 1847 to endorse the Wilmot Proviso, which added to the "$3,000,000 bill" a provision