Background
He was born on January 10, 1814 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United Sattes, the son of a farmer of English, Welsh, and Irish descent. When he was five he was taken to Mifflin County and later to Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
banker merchant politician statesman
He was born on January 10, 1814 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United Sattes, the son of a farmer of English, Welsh, and Irish descent. When he was five he was taken to Mifflin County and later to Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
He was educated in local schools of Pennsylvania taught by old-fashioned traveling country school teachers and developed a love of reading that gave him most of his limited education.
In 1844 he and his wife removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he opened a small store which he conducted successfully. In 1847 he was elected school fund commissioner and the following year recorder and treasurer of Scott County.
Early in the fifties he was active in the building of a railroad from Davenport to Council Bluffs, a pioneer railroad in Iowa. He also had an important part in the construction of other railroad enterprises of local and state importance.
He had become known as a financier, and, when in 1858 the state bank of Iowa was established, he represented the Davenport branch. In 1860 he became president and retained the office until the end of 1865, when the state system was superseded by the federal banking system. Many of the features of that system were suggested by the Iowa law and were successfully tested during its existence.
He represented Iowa in Congress from 1863 to 1869 and from 1877 to 1881. From 1881 to 1885 he was commissioner of Indian affairs.
After his retirement he resided in Washington. He died on May 30, 1901.
He was a Democrat until the formation of the Republican party in Iowa in 1856. He advocated the resumption of specie payments and also favored the remonetization of silver. He never compromised with any opposition, and he was aggressive in sustaining and disseminating his radical views.
He was a determined opponent of the use and sale of intoxicating liquors.
In April 1834 he married Susan Betts, the daughter of prosperous Quaker parents. Of their five children, the eldest became the wife of John F. Dillon.