Archibald Meserole Bliss (January 25, 1838 – March 19, 1923) was an American politician who served six terms as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from New York from 1875 to 1883, and from 1885 to 1889.

Biography

Bliss was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and attended the common schools. He married Marie E. Meserale and they had two children.

Career

Between 1864 and 1867 Bliss was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Brooklyn and served as president of the board of aldermen in 1866. In 1867 he was unsuccessful in his candidacy for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, which he ran on the Republican ticket. Bliss was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...

and

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

. He was a delegate to the Liberal Republican National Convention in 1872, and to the Democratic National Convention of

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

, and

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

. He was a member of the board of water commissioners of Brooklyn in 1871 and 1872. From 1868 until 1878 he was the president and vice-president of the Bushwick Railroad Company. He was also a Director of the New York & Long Island Bridge Company.

Tenure in Congress

Elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Bliss was a United States Representative for the Fourth District of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the

forty-fourth Congress The 44th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875, ...

and was re-elected three times, serving from March 4, 1875, to March 3, 1883. He did not stand in 1882 but was elected to the forty-ninth and fiftieth Congresses for the fifth district of New York and served from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1889. He did not run in 1888. While in Congress Bliss served as Chairman on the Committee on Pensions. From 1889 until his death, he carried on a real estate business in Washington D. C.

Death

Bliss died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on March 19, 1923. He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Cypress Hills Cemetery Cypress Hills Cemetery is non-sectarian/non-denominational cemetery corporation organized in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, the first of its type in the city. The cemetery is run as a non-profit organization and is loca ...

, Brooklyn, New York.

References

External links

Archibald Meserole Bliss entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Archibald 1838 births 1923 deaths Burials at Cypress Hills Cemetery New York (state) Republicans People from Brooklyn Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)