Gordon E. Cole
Gordon E. Cole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd Minnesota Attorney General | |
| In office 1860–1866 | |
| Preceded by | Charles H. Berry |
| Succeeded by | William J. Colvill |
Gordon Earl Cole (June 18, 1833– October 4, 1890) was a lawyer and politician who served as Minnesota Attorney General from 1860 to 1866.
Life and career
Cole was born in Cheshire, Massachusetts in 1833. He attended Suffield Academy and later studied law at several different schools and law offices in New York including under George N. Briggs. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1854 and opened a law practice in his hometown of Cheshire shortly thereafter.[1]
In 1855, he married Stella C. Whipple. The two relocated to Minnesota Territory a year later, settling in Faribault, Minnesota. Cole pursued his legal career, living in Faribault and occasionally traveling to Minneapolis and St. Paul for trials. He developed a specialty working with cases related to railroads.[1]
Cole served three terms as Minnesota Attorney General from 1860 to 1866. He also served two terms in the Minnesota State Legislature, winning election as a member of the Minnesota Senate in 1864 and to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1882. He served on a variety of state agencies and boards and as mayor of Faribault for a single term. He also ran unsuccessfully against Dwight M. Sabin in 1884 for United States Senate.[2]
Cole became ill in 1890 and traveled to Europe with his daughter to seek medical treatment. He died in London on October 4, 1890.[3]
Notes
- ^ a b Flandrau, Charles E. (1888). "The Bench and Bar of Ramsey County, Minnesota". Magazine of Western History. 8: 66–69.
- ^ "Cole, Gordon E. – Legislator Record". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
- ^ "Gordon E. Cole Dead". Minneapolis Tribune. October 4, 1890.
