William Aldrich (January 19, 1820 – December 3, 1885) was an American Republican politician who served as Congressman from the state of

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

Biography

He was born in Greenfield Center in the Town of Greenfield in New York. He attended local schools and taught school himself. Aldrich moved to

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and then to Two Rivers,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, where he worked as a shopkeeper and manufacturer.''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''
/ref> He served as superintendent of schools from 1855 to 1856 and chairman of the county board of supervisors from 1857 to 1858. In 1859 he was elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

. He moved to

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

in 1861 and opened another shop. He served as congressman from 1877 to 1883 after having earlier served in the Chicago City Council in 1876. Aldrich died in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He is buried in

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is an American garden cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. According to legend, the name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the a ...

in Chicago. His son, James Franklin Aldrich also became a Congressman, holding the same congressional seat as his father.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, William 1820 births 1885 deaths People from Greenfield, New York Burials at Rosehill Cemetery Chicago City Council members Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American politicians