Theodore Weld Burdick (October 7, 1836 – July 16, 1898) was an American banker,

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 ...

veteran and politician who one term served as a Republican

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 3rd congressional district Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwestern quadrant, which roughly consists of an area stretching from Des Moines to the borders with Nebraska and Missouri. From 2013 to ...

, serving from 1877 to 1879.

Biography

Born in

Evansburg, Pennsylvania Evansburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,129 at the 2010 census. It is a section of Lower Providence Township and is the namesake of Evansburg State Park. History The ...

, Burdick attended the common schools. He moved with his parents to Decorah, Iowa, in 1853 and at age seventeen became the community's first schoolteacher."Third District," Iowa State Reporter (Waterloo), 1876-09-13 at p. 5. He was a deputy treasurer and recorder of Winneshiek County from 1854 to 1857, and the treasurer and recorder from 1858 to 1862, when he resigned to recruit a company for 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 ...

in the

Civil War

He was commissioned as captain and assigned to Company D the 6th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. He served for three years in the Department of the Northwest, in response to

uprisings Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

in southern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

by Native Americans against settlers. After the regiment was mustered out in 1865 he returned to Decorah and became cashier of the First National Bank.

Congress

In 1876, Burdick was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fifth Congress, where he served from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1879. He served on the House Committee on Expenditures. In 1878, he declined to be a candidate for renomination.Iowa State Reporter (Waterloo), 1878-05-15 at p. 4.

Later career

He resumed banking at Decorah, and

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

. 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 1886 and 1887.

Death and burial

He died in Decorah from July 16, 1898. He was interred in Phelps Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burdick, Theodore Weld 1836 births 1898 deaths United States Army officers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Republican Party Iowa state senators 19th-century American legislators