George Douglas Perkins (February 29, 1840 – February 3, 1914) was a longtime newspaper editor,

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 11th congressional district in the northwestern portion of the state, and a candidate for his party's nomination as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. He was born in Holley, New York, the son of John Dyer Perkins and Lucy Forsyth. John Dyer Perkins was a Presidential elector from Orleans County, New York, in 1844. John Dyer Perkins was also the brother of Elizabeth Rogers Perkins Humphrey, the great-grandmother of Humphrey Bogart, the actor. In 1860, he established the ''Cedar Falls Gazette'' in Cedar Falls,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. On August 12, 1862, after the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Company B of the 31st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. His military service ended seven months later on January 12, 1863, when he returned to ''The Gazette.'' After 1866, he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and was engaged as agent of the Northwestern

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until 1869. He moved to

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, Iowa, having become engaged in Chicago to Louise Julien, daughter of diamond jeweler Narcissus Julien, and in 1869 became editor and publisher of the ''

Sioux City Journal The ''Sioux City Journal'' is the daily newspaper and website of Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1864, the publication now covers northwestern Iowa and portions of Nebraska and South Dakota. The Journal has won numerous state, regional and nation ...

.'' He was elected to one term in the

Iowa State 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, . E ...

, having served from 1874 to 1876.Brigham, Johnson.
Iowa: Its History and Its Foremost Citizens
', pp. 666 (S.J. Clarke, 1918, Iowa History Project): accessed April 12, 2009. He served from 1880 to 1882 as Iowa's commissioner of immigration. On January 29, 1883,

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Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

named Perkins as the

United States marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

for the

Northern District of Iowa The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (in case citations, N.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over fifty-two of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims and ...

. In 1885, he was removed by the Democratic President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. In 1890, Perkins was one of three major candidates who challenged incumbent 11th district Congressman

Isaac S. Struble Isaac Sterling "Ike" Struble (November 3, 1843 – February 17, 1913) was an American politician who was a four-term Republican Representative of Iowa's 11th congressional district. Serving from 1883 to 1891, the Plymouth County resident ...

for the Republican nomination. At the district convention, Struble consistently outpolled the other three until, on the 43rd ballot, his opponents united behind Perkins and hence gave Perkins the nomination. In the worst midterm election for Republican candidates since the Civil War, Perkins was still elected in November 1890 to the

52nd United States Congress The 52nd 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, 1891, ...

, the one known as "the billion dollar Congress." He was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses. In 1894, he was one of seven Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement of James F. Wilson, the winner was John H. Gear.Dan Elbert Clark,
History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa
" pp. 227-35 (Iowa 1913). In February 1898, Lot Thomas, a state court judge, challenged Perkins for the Republican nomination to the district nominating convention on the 217th ballot. In all, Perkins served in Congress from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1899. George Douglas Perkins Statesman Publisher of a statement essay by Red Cloud in the editorial section of the Sioux City Journal along with the anniversary articles of the papers' founding with the founders' photos. Perkins returned to Sioux City and to the ''Journal.'' In 1906, he challenged incumbent Republican Governor Albert B. Cummins for the party's nomination. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1876, 1880, 1888, 1908, and 1912. Perkins died in Sioux City on February 3, 1914.Obituary of Drusilla Marie Perkins Kazen, granddaughter of George Perkins, ''

Laredo Morning Times The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and busin ...

'', December 15, 2011, p. 11A

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, George Douglas 1840 births 1914 deaths People of Iowa in the American Civil War Republican Party Iowa state senators People from Cedar Falls, Iowa People from Murray, New York American newspaper publishers (people) Journalists from Iowa Union Army soldiers Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa United States Marshals Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople