Alva Lysander Hager (October 29, 1850 – January 29, 1923) was a three-term

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 Iowa's 9th congressional district in the 1890s.

Biography

Born near

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

, Hager moved in 1859 to Iowa with his parents, who settled near Cottonville, in Jackson County. He moved to Jones County in 1863. He attended the public schools of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

and Anamosa. He graduated from the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or U ...

in 1875. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1875 and commenced practice in Greenfield, in southwestern Iowa. He served as member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

in 1891. He served as chairman of the Iowa Republican State convention in 1892. In 1892, the U.S. House seat for Iowa's 9th congressional district was open because incumbent Democrat Thomas Bowman did not seek a second term. Hager won the Republican nomination and the general election. After serving in the

53rd United States Congress The 53rd 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, 1893 ...

, he was re-elected twice, serving in the Fifty-fourth, and Fifty-fifth Congresses. Daughters of Alva L

In August 1898, Hager was defeated by

Smith McPherson Smith McPherson (February 14, 1848 – January 17, 1915) was a United States representative from Iowa and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Education and career Born on February ...

in the race for the

nomination for Hager's seat. There were four serious candidates for the nomination. For several days, no candidate received the required number of votes, but McPherson prevailed on the 618th ballot, after Hager threw his support to him."The Congressional Convention," Glenwood Opinion, 1898-08-25 at p. 4. In all, Hager served from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1899. After leaving Congress, Hager resumed the practice of law. He moved to

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

in 1901 and continued the practice of his profession. He engaged in banking from 1911 to 1918. He died in Des Moines on January 29, 1923. He was interred in Hrabak Funeral Home vault.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hager, Alva Lysander 1850 births 1923 deaths Republican Party Iowa state senators Politicians from Jamestown, New York Iowa lawyers University of Iowa College of Law alumni People from Monticello, Iowa Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Greenfield, Iowa People from Anamosa, Iowa 19th-century American lawyers