History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States

by William Horatio Barnes

EDWIN D. MORGAN was born in Washington, Massachusetts, February 8, 1811. At the age of seventeen he became a clerk, and three years later a partner in a wholesale grocery house in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1836 he settled in New York City, and embarked extensively in mercantile pursuits. In 1849 he was chosen an Alderman of the city, and soon after was elected a member of the State Senate, in which he served two terms. Since 1856 he has been Chairman of the National Republican Committee. In 1858 he was elected Governor of New York, and re-elected in 1860. During his administration, 223,000 troops were sent into the field from New York. Governor Morgan was appointed by President Lincoln a Major General of Volunteers. In 1863 he was elected United States Senator from New York for the term ending in 1869.

JUSTIN S. MORRILL was born in Strafford, Vermont, April 14, 1810. He received an academical education, and subsequently gave his attention to mercantile and agricultural pursuits. In 1854 he was elected a Representative from Vermont to the Thirty-Fourth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-Fifth, Thirty-Sixth, Thirty-Seventh, Thirty-Eighth and Thirty-Ninth Congresses. In 1867 he became a United States Senator from Vermont for the term ending in 1873, succeeding Luke P. Poland, who became the successor of Mr. Morrill as a Representative in the Fortieth Congress.—17, 19, 29, 555.

LOT M. MORRILL was born at Belgrade, Maine, in 1815. He studied at Waterville College, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. In 1854 he was a member of the Maine Legislature, and in 1856 he was President of the State Senate. In 1858 he was elected Governor of Maine, and was twice re-elected. In 1861 he was elected United States Senator from Maine for the unexpired term of Vice-President Hamlin. In 1863 he was re-elected to the Senate for the term ending in 1869.—28, 204, 205, 207, 408, 484, 485, 489, 530.

DANIEL MORRIS was born in Seneca County, New York, January 4, 1812. He was bred a farmer, taught school for a time, and finally became a lawyer. Having been District Attorney for Yates County, and member of the State Legislature, he was in 1862 elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-Eighth Congress, and in 1864 was re-elected. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is William H. Kelsey.

SAMUEL W. MOULTON was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, January 20, 1822. Having acquired a common-school education, at the age of twenty he emigrated to the West, and spent a year at Covington, Kentucky, where he commenced the study of law. He subsequently went to Mississippi, where he taught school, and continued the study of law. In 1845 he settled in Illinois, and soon after commenced the practice of law. In 1852 he was elected to the Legislature of Illinois, and was continuously re-elected until 1859. He was the author of the Free-School System of Illinois. He held the position of Chairman of the Board of Education for a number of years. He was a candidate for Presidential Elector on the Democratic ticket in 1856. On the breaking out of the Rebellion he joined the Republican party, and was in 1863 elected President of the Union League of Illinois. In 1864 he was elected Representative from the State at large to the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and was succeeded by John A. Logan in the Fortieth Congress.—149.

LEONARD MYERS was born in Attleborough, Pennsylvania, November 13, 1827. Having entered the profession of law, and settled in Philadelphia, he became Solicitor for two municipal districts in that city. He digested the ordinances for the consolidation of the city, and has translated several works from the French. In 1862 he was elected a member of the Thirty-Eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-Ninth and Fortieth Congresses.

JAMES W. NESMITH was born in Washington County, Maine, July 23, 1820. When quite young, he removed to New Hampshire, emigrated to Ohio in 1838, subsequently spent some time in Missouri, and finally settled in Oregon in 1843. In 1853 he was appointed United States Marshal for Oregon. In 1857 he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon and Washington Territories. In 1861 he became United States Senator from Oregon for the term ending in 1867, when he was succeeded by Henry W. Corbett.

WILLIAM A. NEWELL is a native of Ohio, and a graduate of Rutger's College. He studied medicine, and took up his residence in Allentown, New Jersey. He was a member of Congress from that State from 1847 to 1851. In 1856 he was elected Governor of New Jersey, and held the office till 1860. He was again elected a Representative to Congress in 1864, and was succeeded in the Fortieth Congress by Charles Haight.

WILLIAM E. NIBLACK was born in Dubois County, Indiana, May 19, 1822, and spent his early life on a farm. He attended the Indiana University at intervals during three years, and afterwards devoted some time to surveying and civil engineering. In 1845 he commenced the practice of law, and in 1849 he was elected a Representative in the State Legislature. In the following year he was elected to the State Senate. In January, 1854, he was appointed Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, to fill a vacancy, and was, in the following fall, elected to the office for the term of six years. In 1857 he was elected a Representative from Indiana to the Thirty-Fifth Congress, and was re-elected in 1859. After the close of the Thirty-Sixth Congress he served one term in the State Legislature. In 1864 he was again elected a Representative in Congress from Indiana, and was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress.—526.

JOHN A. NICHOLSON was born in Laurel, Delaware, November 17, 1827. Having graduated at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, he studied law, and settled in Dover, Delaware, where he was admitted to the bar in 1850. In 1865 he entered Congress as a Representative from Delaware, and was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress.—361.