George Douglas Perkins | |
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Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's11th district | |
In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1899 | |
Preceded by | Isaac S. Struble |
Succeeded by | Lot Thomas |
Member of theIowa Senate | |
In office 1874-1876 | |
Personal details | |
Born | (1840-02-29)February 29, 1840 Holley,New York |
Died | February 3, 1914(1914-02-03) (aged 73) Sioux City,Iowa |
Resting place | Floyd Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa |
Political party | Republican |
Occupation | Newspaper publisher |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
George Douglas Perkins (February 29, 1840 – February 3, 1914) was a longtime newspaper editor,RepublicanU.S. Representative fromIowa's 11th congressional district in the northwestern portion of the state, and a candidate for his party's nomination asgovernor.
He was born in Holley, New York, the son of John Dyer Perkins and Lucy Forsyth. John Dyer Perkins was a Presidential elector from Orleans County, New York, in 1844. John Dyer Perkins was also the brother of Elizabeth Rogers Perkins Humphrey, the great-grandmother of Humphrey Bogart, the actor.
In 1860, he established theCedar Falls Gazette inCedar Falls,Iowa. On August 12, 1862, after the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War, he enlisted as aprivate in Company B of the31st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. His military service ended seven months later on January 12, 1863, when he returned toThe Gazette. After 1866, he moved toChicago,Illinois, and was engaged as agent of the NorthwesternAssociated Press until 1869.He moved toSioux City, Iowa, having become engaged in Chicago to Louise Julien, daughter of diamond jeweler Narcissus Julien, and in 1869 became editor and publisher of theSioux City Journal.
He was elected to one term in theIowa State Senate, having served from 1874 to 1876.[1] He served from 1880 to 1882 as Iowa's commissioner of immigration. On January 29, 1883,U.S. PresidentChester A. Arthur named Perkins as theUnited States marshal for theNorthern District of Iowa. In 1885, he was removed by theDemocratic PresidentGrover Cleveland.
In 1890, Perkins was one of three major candidates who challenged incumbent 11th district CongressmanIsaac S. Struble for the Republican nomination. At the district convention, Struble consistently outpolled the other three until, on the 43rd ballot, his opponents united behind Perkins and hence gave Perkins the nomination.[2] In the worst midterm election for Republican candidates since the Civil War, Perkins was still elected in November 1890 to the52nd United States Congress, the one known as "the billion dollar Congress."[3] He was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses. In 1894, he was one of seven Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement ofJames F. Wilson, the winner wasJohn H. Gear.[4] In February 1898,Lot Thomas, a state court judge, challenged Perkins for the Republican nomination to the district nominating convention on the 217th ballot.[5] In all, Perkins served in Congress from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1899.
George Douglas Perkins StatesmanPublisher of a statement essay by Red Cloud in the editorial section of the Sioux City Journal along with the anniversary articles of the papers' founding with the founders' photos.Perkins returned to Sioux City and to theJournal. In 1906, he challenged incumbent Republican GovernorAlbert B. Cummins for the party's nomination.[6] He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1876, 1880, 1888, 1908, and 1912. Perkins died in Sioux City on February 3, 1914.[7]
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 11th congressional district 1891–1899 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress