Republican Constitutional Convention 1857 (District 10); House 1859-60 (District 15); Senate 1872-75 (District 12)
Party when first elected: Republican
Counties Served: Steele, Waseca
Gilmanton College, New Hampshire; Attended College; Studied Law; With Frank Pierce
Spouse: Married (when first elected); Widower (listed in 1872); Married (listed in 1873) Children: Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
Toensing, the Fifteenth Legislature of Minnesota, 1873; and the Minnesota Legislative Manuals, 1860, 1873, 1874, and 1875 list his last name as Coggswell. The Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1872 lists both Cogswell and Coggswell.The Fifteenth Legislature of Minnesota, St. Paul: Press Printing Company, 1873 lists his city as Owatonna. Toensing and the Minnesota Legislative Manuals, 1860, 1872, 1873, 1874 and 1875 list Aurora.He moved to Illinois until 1853 when he moved to Washington D.C. He moved to Minnesota in 1856.Speaking about the 1859-60, 2nd Minnesota Legislative Session, Folwell states "the House elected a Republican speaker." (Folwell, William Watts. A History of Minnesota, Volume 2, p. 62)He served on the Republican Constitutional Convention in 1857. He ran as a Democratic candidate for Minnesota Secretary of State in the 1867 election. (Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 3, p. 47, 56, 447-448)His city is listed as Aurora Center.He died in Owatonna, Minnesota.