Abel Carter Wilder (March 18, 1828 – December 22, 1875) 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

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Biography

Born in

Mendon, Massachusetts Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,228 at the 2020 census. Mendon is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, an early center of the industrial revolution in the United ...

, Wilder completed preparatory studies and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, and continued mercantile pursuits. He moved to Leavenworth, Kansas in 1857 and again engaged in mercantile pursuits. He served as delegate to the Osawatomie convention in 1859. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860 and elected its chairman. He served as a captain in the Kansas brigade for one year in 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 ...

. Wilder was 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 Thirty-Eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865). He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1864, 1868, and 1872. He returned to

, in 1865 and published the Morning and Evening Express until 1868, when he retired from active business pursuits. Wilder was elected mayor of Rochester in 1872, but resigned in 1873. He died in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, December 22, 1875, while there for his health. He was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery,

References

Retrieved on 2009-05-07 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Abel Carter 1828 births 1875 deaths Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) Mayors of Rochester, New York People from Mendon, Massachusetts People of Kansas in the American Civil War Burials in New York (state) Union Army officers New York (state) Republicans Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 19th-century American politicians Military personnel from Massachusetts