Alfred Morrison Lay (May 20, 1836 – December 8, 1879) was a

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Born in

Lewis County, Missouri Lewis County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,032. Its county seat is Monticello. The county was organized January 2, 1833 and named for Meriwether Lew ...

, Lay moved with his parents to Benton County in 1842. He attended private schools and was graduated from Bethany College, Virginia (now in West Virginia), in 1856. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and commenced practice in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

. He was appointed United States district attorney for the western district of Missouri by President Buchanan and served until his resignation in 1861. Enlisted as a private in the Missouri State Guard and was subsequently promoted to the rank of major. He returned to Missouri when the command disbanded. He served as captain of ordnance,

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. He resumed the practice of law in

. He served as member of the State constitutional convention in 1875. Lay was 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 ...

to the Forty-sixth Congress and served from March 4, 1879, until his death 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 December 8, 1879. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery,

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lay, Alfred Morrison 1836 births 1879 deaths Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni 19th-century American politicians United States Attorneys for the Western District of Missouri

See also

References