- John Taylor Hamilton
Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name =John Taylor Hamilton
imagesize =200px
small
caption =
order =Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from
office =Iowa's 5th congressional district
term_start =March 4 ,1891
term_end =March 3 ,1893
predecessor =Daniel Kerr
successor =Robert G. Cousins
birth_date =October 16 ,1843
birth_place =Geneseo,Hamilton County, Illinois
death_date =January 25 ,1925
death_place =Cedar Rapids ,Iowa
party =Democrat
spouse =Sarah Ann Jones
John Taylor Hamilton (
October 16 ,1843 –January 25 ,1925 ) was a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromIowa .Early life
Hamilton was born on
October 16 ,1843 near Geneseo,Hamilton County, Illinois to James S. Hamilton and Mary E. Taylor.Cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000113|title=HAMILTON, John Taylor|accessdate=2007-07-31|work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress ] cite book | title=History of Linn County Iowa Volume II| last=Brewer| first=Luther A.| coauthors=Barthinius L. Wick| date=1911| pages=p. 52] His ancestors came fromIreland , and were Scottish-Irish. James was born inWestmoreland County, Pennsylvania and later moved toAntrim, New Hampshire . John's parents were married inHenry County, Illinois , and farmed there. When James retired he moved to Geneso, Illinois, and lived there until he died at age 77. John's mother died at age 82. The Hamiltons were Presbyterian and the Taylors were Unitarian.Hamilton got his education from
public schools and the Geneseo Seminary. When he was finished with his schooling he worked for a company that soldfire insurance to farmers. After three years the company failed. In 1868, he moved toCedar Rapids, Iowa . He arrived in the city onFebruary 2 that year and represented C. H. McCormick ofChicago in the reaper business. He was anxious to start his own business, and started the agricultural implement company Averill & Hamilton onOctober 1 ,1868 . He married Sarah Ann Jones, daughter of Edward Jones and Phoebe McArthur, onOctober 16 ,1873 . They had four children, two of them being James E. and Mabel Fawn.Career
In the fall of 1873, Mr. Averill sold his stock in the company to John R. Amidon and the company was renamed Hamilton & Amidon. Hamilton was elected mayor of Cedar Rapids in 1878.cite book | title=History of Linn County Iowa Volume II| last=Brewer| first=Luther A.| coauthors=Barthinius L. Wick| date=1911| pages=p. 55] He served as a member of the Linn County Board of Supervisors from 1882 to 1884. In May 1883 he became the president of the recently formed Cedar Rapids Savings Bank. In 1885, he was elected a member of the
Iowa House of Representatives and served in the 21st through 23rd assemblies. He was speaker of the house in the 23rd assembly, until his term ended in 1891.In 1891, Hamilton's brothers W. W. and Porter bought Amidon's stock in his and John's agricultural implement company. The company was then renamed Hamilton Brothers. After Hamilton's term as state representative ended, he was elected as a Democrat to the
52nd United States Congress , and served fromMarch 4 ,1891 toMarch 3 ,1893 . OnJuly 1 ,1899 , he became the president of the Merchants National Bank. He was also a stockholder and one of the owners of the Cedar Rapids Hotel Company, owner of the Montrose Hotel, and a stockholder in the Acme Fire Insurance Company. From 1903 to 1906 he was a member of the Board of Control of State Institutions. He was first appointed to that position for two years to finish the remainder of Judge Kinnie's term; Judge Kinnie died in office. He was reappointed for a full six-year term, but he resigned a year later.In 1914, Hamilton unsuccessfully ran to be
Governor of Iowa . He died in Cedar Rapids, Iowa onJanuary 25 ,1925 . He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.Notes
References
*Brewer, Luther A.; Barthinius L. Wick (1911). "History of Linn County Iowa Volume II" Chicago: The Pioneer Publishing Company
Persondata
NAME =Hamilton, John Taylor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION =Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
DATE OF BIRTH =October 16 ,1843
PLACE OF BIRTH =Geneseo,Hamilton County, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH =January 25 ,1925
PLACE OF DEATH =Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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