William Alfred Peffer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromKansas | |
| In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1897 | |
| Preceded by | John J. Ingalls |
| Succeeded by | William A. Harris |
| Member of theKansas Senate | |
| In office 1874 1876 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1831-09-10)September 10, 1831 |
| Died | October 6, 1912(1912-10-06) (aged 81) |
| Party | People's Party (Populist) |
| Signature | .png) |
William Alfred Peffer (September 10, 1831 – October 6, 1912) was an American lawyer, Union Army officer during theAmerican Civil War, state legislator, andUnited States Senator fromKansas. He was the first of sixPopulists (two of whom were from Kansas) elected to the United States Senate. In the Senate, he was recognizable by his enormous flowing beard. His name was also raised as a possible third-partypresidential candidate in1896.
Born inCumberland County, Pennsylvania, Peffer attended thepublic schools and commenced teaching at the age of 15. He followed thegold rush toSan Francisco,California in 1850 and moved toPenn Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana in 1853,Missouri in 1859, andIllinois in 1862.
During the Civil War he enlisted in theUnion Army as aprivate, was promoted tosecond lieutenant, and served as regimentalquartermaster andadjutant, post adjutant,judge advocate of the military commission, and department.
After the war, he studied law, and was admitted to thebar in 1865, commencing practice inClarksville, Tennessee. He moved toFredonia, Kansas in 1870 and continued the practice of law, and purchased and edited theFredonia Journal.
Peffer was a member of theKansas Senate from 1874 to 1876 and moved toCoffeyville, Kansas, where he edited theCoffeyville Journal in 1875 and also practiced law. He was apresidential elector onRepublican candidateJames A. Garfield's ticket in1880 and was editor of theTopeka-basedKansas Farmer in 1881.
He was elected as a Populist to the U.S. Senate by the Kansas Legislature and served from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1897. (His campaign was materially strengthened by the work ofMary Elizabeth Lease.) While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee to Examine Branches of theCivil Service (Fifty-third andFifty-fourth Congresses).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896, being beaten by a fellow PopulistWilliam A. Harris, making Peffer the only Populist senator to be succeeded by a fellow Populist.
He was an unsuccessful candidate in the1898 Kansas gubernatorial election, and afterward engaged in literary pursuits.
Peffer died inGrenola, Kansas in 1912. He was interred inTopeka Cemetery under a soldier's government-issued tombstone.
| U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Kansas 1891–1897 Served alongside:Preston B. Plumb,Bishop W. Perkins,John Martin,Lucien Baker | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
