John D. Alderson (November 29, 1854December 5, 1910) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

who served as a

United States 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 ...

from

Biography

He was born at Nicholas Court House, Virginia (now

Summersville, West Virginia Summersville is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,459 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County. History Summersville was laid out in 1824. The city was named for Lewis Summers, a lo ...

) on November 29, 1854. He was a member of the 51st, 52nd, and

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 ...

es. He died December 5, 1910. He served as

sergeant at arms Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

of the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in the ...

from 1871 to 1873, and the State Senate's doorkeeper in 1872 and 1873. After studying law, he was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1876 and entered practice at Nicholas County Court House. He was appointed

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

for the counties of

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

and

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...

in 1876. He was subsequently elected prosecuting attorney for these counties and then re-elected in 1880 and 1884, serving until January 1, 1889. He also served as clerk of the State Senate from 1883 to 1887. He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895). His candidacy for re-election in 1894 was unsuccessful. Afterward, he returned to his law the practice in Nicholas County. He served as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s in 1900 and 1908. He died in

Richwood, West Virginia Richwood is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. In 2020, the census showed Richwood with a population of 1,661. During the 19th and early 20th century Richwood was a booming coal and lumber to ...

, in Nicholas County on December 5, 1910, and was buried in a private burial ground at

Sources

Online. September 11, 2007. 1854 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia People from Summersville, West Virginia West Virginia lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 19th-century American politicians {{US-Congress-stub

Biography

See also

Sources