Alson Streeter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theIllinois Senate from the 24th district | |
| In office 1885–1888 | |
| Preceded by | John Fletcher[1] |
| Succeeded by | Orville F. Berry[2] |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 22nd district | |
| In office 1873–1874 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alson Jenness Streeter (1823-01-18)January 18, 1823 Berlin, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 24, 1901(1901-11-24) (aged 78) New Windsor,Illinois, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Greenback(1880) Anti-Monopoly Party(1884) Union Labor Party(1888) |
| Spouse(s) | Deborah Boone Susan Menold |
| Children | 7 |
| Parents |
|
| Education | Knox College |
Alson Jenness Streeter (January 18, 1823 – November 24, 1901) was an American farmer, miner and politician who was theUnion Labor Party nominee in theUnited States presidential election of1888. He was also an early member of theNational Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry following its foundation in the 1860s and supportedGranger Laws while in office.
Alson Streeter was born on January 18, 1823, inRensselaer County, New York, to Eleanor Kenyon and Roswell Streeter. The family later moved toAllegany County, New York in 1827 andLee County, Illinois in 1836.[3][4][5] He lived with his parents until his father's death in 1840, after which he became a miner and farmer. He attendedKnox College in Illinois in 1846 and graduated in 1849.[6]
In 1849, he moved to California, but returned to Illinois in 1851. In 1853 and 1854, he returned to California for a short time to drive cattle.[7]
During theCivil War, he supported theWar Democrat faction of the Democratic Party. In the 1860s, he entered politics as an unsuccessful candidate forIllinois General Assembly. In 1862, he joined the Mercer County Board of Supervisors.[8][9] Streeter was elected as aDemocratic member of theIllinois House of Representatives for the 1873–1874 session fromMercer County. In 1874, he became a member of the recently foundedGreenback Party.[10]
In 1878, he was the Greenback nominee for Congress forIllinois's 10th congressional district, and was the party's nominee forGovernor of Illinois in 1880, coming in third with over 28,000 votes. In 1884, he won election to theIllinois State Senate under a Greenback-Democratic fusion ticket and served until 1888.[11][12] In the1891 United States Senate election, he was narrowly defeated by former GovernorJohn M. Palmer for Illinois' seat in theUnited States Senate by eleven votes.[13]
In 1884, he served as the temporary chairman of the recently foundedAnti-Monopoly Party.[14] In the 1888 presidential election, he won the Union Labor Party's nomination by acclamation on the first ballot, withCharles E. Cunningham as his running mate. Streeter and Cunningham finished fourth in a field of six in the election, garnering 149,115 votes or 1.31 percent of the nationwide total.[15][16]
He was married twice, to Deborah Boone Streeter and Susan Menold Streeter. Streeter had three sons and four daughters.[17]
On November 24, 1901, Streeter died at his home inNew Windsor, Illinois fromdiabetes and was interred in New Windsor Cemetery in Mercer County, Illinois.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Benjamin F. Marsh | 11,814 | 44.50% | −6.59% | |
| Democratic | Delos P. Phelps | 11,238 | 42.33% | −6.05% | |
| Greenback | Alson Streeter | 3,496 | 13.17% | +12.64% | |
| Total votes | 26,548 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Shelby Moore Cullom | 314,565 | 50.57% | −0.01% | |
| Democratic | Lyman Trumbull | 277,532 | 44.61% | −4.74% | |
| Greenback | Alson Streeter | 28,898 | 4.65% | +4.65% | |
| N/A | Other | 953 | 0.15% | ||
| Prohibition | Uriah Copp Jr. (write-in) | 122 | 0.02% | −0.01% | |
| Total votes | 622,070 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Benjamin Harrison | 5,443,892 | 47.80% | −0.48% | |
| Democratic | Grover Cleveland | 5,534,488 | 48.63% | −0.22% | |
| Prohibition | Clinton B. Fisk | 249,819 | 2.20% | +0.70% | |
| Labor | Alson Streeter | 146,602 | 1.31% | +1.31% | |
| N/A | Other | 3,203 | -0.01% | ||
| Socialist Labor | Slate of unpledged electors | 2,068 | 0.02% | +0.02% | |
| Independent | James Curtis | 1,615 | 0.01% | +0.01% | |
| Independent | Robert Cowdrey | 1,032 | 0.01% | +0.01% | |
| Total votes | 11,383,320 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John M. Palmer | 101 | 49.51% | ||
| Republican | Richard J. Oglesby | 100 | 49.02% | ||
| Populist | Alson Streeter | 3 | 1.47% | ||
| Total votes | 204 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John M. Palmer | 103 | 50.49% | ||
| Populist | Alson Streeter | 92 | 45.10% | ||
| Republican | Richard J. Oglesby | 9 | 4.41% | ||
| Total votes | 204 | 100.00% | |||
Media related toAlson Streeter at Wikimedia Commons| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New political party | Union Labor nominee forPresident of the United States 1888 | Party dissolved |