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    Edgerton, Alonzo Jay "A.J."

    Sessions Served    Other Information

    Senate 1859-60 (District 13); Senate 1877-78 (District 11)

    Party when first elected:  Republican

    Counties Served:  Dodge, Mower

    BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

    Date of Birth: 6/7/1827
    Birth Place: Rome, New York
    Birth County: Oneida
    Birth Country: United States
    Date of Death: 8/9/1896
    Gender: Male
    Religion:
    Reported Minority: None Reported
    Other Names: A.J.
    City of Residence (when first elected): Mantorville
    Occupation (when first elected): Attorney

    EDUCATION

    Lowville Academy, New York ; At Least Elementary School;
    Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut; College Graduate; 1850
    Studied Law; Admitted to the Bar, 1855

    OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

    Judge: United States District Court, South Dakota (Appointed by President Harrison); 18?? to 18?? [Appointed]
    County Attorney: Dodge County, Minnesota; 18?? to 18??
    Military: Union Army, 10th Minnesota Volunteer Regiment, Company B (United States Indian Campaign; United States Civil War, Department of Missouri, 1 year, and Department of the Gulf, Private, Colonel of the 67th U.S. Colored Infantry, Brevet Brigadier General); 1862 to 1867
    State Board/Commission/Council: Minnesota Railroad and Warehouse Commission (Appointed by Governor Austin, Railroad Commissioner, He was the First One); 01/10/1872 to 1876 [Appointed]
    U.S. Senator: Minnesota; 03/1875 to 03/1877
    Board of Regents: University of Minnesota; 12/1878 to 12/22/1881
    Territorial Government: South Dakota Constitutional Convention (President, for two of them); 188? to 188?
    Judge: Territorial Supreme Court of Dakota (Chief Justice); 1881 to 18?? [Appointed]
    U.S. Senator: Minnesota; 03/12/1881 to 10/30/1881 [Appointed]

    FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

    Spouse: Sarah Curtis (married in 1850)
    Children: Nine children: (7 sons, 2 daughters)
    Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

    GENERAL NOTES

    He moved to Mississippi after 1850 and stayed there a year. He then moved to Illinois around 1853. He came to Mantorville, Minnesota in the spring of 1855.

    He was "an influential Republican politician." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of Minnesota and the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 15)

    He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)

    He died of Bright's disease and was buried at Mantorville, Dodge County, Minnesota.

    Total Days Served: 1133

    SESSIONS SERVED

    20th Legislative Session (1878)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 11
    Elected: 11/7/1876
    Residence: Mantorville
    Term of Office: 1/2/1877 to 1/6/1879
    Counties Represented: Dodge
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Republican Party Notes: He was "an influential Republican politician." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of Minnesota and the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 15); He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
    Committees:
    • Joint Text Books Special
    • Judiciary
    • Military Affairs (Chair)
    • Railroads
    • Soldiers Orphans
    • State Reform School (Chair)
    Leadership Position: President Pro Tempore

    19th Legislative Session (1877)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 11
    Elected: 11/7/1876
    Residence: Mantorville
    Term of Office: 1/2/1877 to 1/6/1879
    Counties Represented: Dodge
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Republican Party Notes: He was "an influential Republican politician." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of Minnesota and the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 15); He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
    Committees:
    • Judiciary
    • Military Affairs (Chair)
    • Railroads
    • Soldiers Orphans

    2nd Legislative Session (1859-1860)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 13
    Elected: 10/12/1858
    Residence: Mantorville
    Term of Office: 12/7/1859 to 1/7/1861
    Counties Represented: Dodge, Mower
    Occupation: Attorney
    Party: Republican Party Notes: He was "an influential Republican politician." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of Minnesota and the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 15)
    Committees:
    • Banks

    OTHER INFORMATION

    Articles & Books About
    "Hon. A.J. Edgerton." Memoirs of the State Officers; and of the Nineteenth Legislature of Minnesota, by C.L. Hall. Minneapolis: Johnson & Smith, p. 14-15.

    Edgerton, Alonzo Jay. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.


    These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.

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