Ralph Plumb (March 29, 1816 – April 8, 1903) 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

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 ...

Biography

Ralph Plumb was born in

Busti, New York Busti ( ) is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 7,521 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Paul Busti, an official of the Holland Land Company, but its pronunciation uses a long i sound at the end, a fr ...

on March 29, 1816. He attended the common schools. He engaged in mercantile pursuits, and moved to Ohio. He served as member of the Ohio State house of representatives in 1855. Deciding to study law, 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 1857 and commenced practice in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

as captain and quartermaster of Volunteers, 1861-65. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel. He moved to Illinois in 1866 and settled in

Streator Streator is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, LaSalle and Livingston County, Illinois, Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River (Illinois River tributary), Vermilion River approximately so ...

. He engaged in the mining of coal and the building of railroads. He served as mayor of Streator from 1882–85, and was later elected as a

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 ...

to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889). Plumb engaged in banking until his death in Streator on April 8, 1903.

Biography

References

Further reading