William Aldrich (Politiker)

William Aldrich

William Aldrich (* January 19, 1820 in Greenfield Center, Saratoga County, New York; † December 3, 1885 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) was a U.S. politician. Between 1877 and 1883 he represented the state of Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

William Aldrich was the father of Congressman J. Frank Aldrich (1853-1933) and a cousin of Nelson W. Aldrich (1841-1915), who represented the state of Rhode Island in both houses of Congress. He attended the public schools of his native state and then taught school himself until he was 26 years old. In 1846 he removed to Jackson, Michigan, where he engaged in commerce. From 1851 he lived in Manitowoc County, where he also engaged in trade. He also worked in woodworking and furniture making. In 1855 and 1856 he was school board member in his new home; from 1857 to 1858 he served on the county board there. In 1859 he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly. In 1861 he removed to Chicago, Illinois, where he engaged in commerce, and in 1876 became a member and chairman in the city council there.

Politically, Aldrich was a member of the Republican Party. In the congressional elections of 1876 he was elected in the first constituency of Illinois to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., where he succeeded Bernard G. Caulfield on March 4, 1877. After two re-elections he was able to serve three terms in Congress until March 3, 1883. In 1882 he was not nominated by his party for re-election.

After his time in the U.S. House of Representatives ended, William Aldrich resumed his former activities in commerce. He also went into the milling business in Fond Du Lac. He also died there on December 3, 1885.

Web links

• William Aldrich (politician) in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)Template:Congressional bio/maintenance/link text not equal to Wikidata designation
• William Aldrich in the database of Find a Grave (english)Template:Findagrave/Maintenance/Same identifier in source text and Wikidata