Edson B. Olds

Edson B. Olds

Edson Baldwin Olds (born June 3, 1802 in Marlboro , Vermont , †  January 24, 1869 in Lancaster , Ohio ) was an American politician . Between 1849 and 1855 he represented the state of Ohio in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Edson Olds attended preparatory schools. Around 1820 he moved to Ohio, where he worked as a teacher for some time. After a subsequent medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and his license as a doctor in 1824, he began to work in Kingston in this profession. In 1828 he moved to Circleville , where he continued to practice as a doctor until 1837. After that he worked in trade, among other things. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1842, 1843, 1845, and 1846 ; from 1846 to 1848 he was a member of the State Senate , of which he was President in 1846 and 1847.

In the congressional election of 1848 Olds was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the ninth constituency of Ohio , where he succeeded Thomas O. Edwards on March 4, 1849 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1855 . Since 1853 he represented the twelfth district of his state there as the successor to John Welch . From 1851 to 1855 he was chairman of the Postal Committee. His time in Congress was marked by discussions about the issue of slavery . In 1850, the 1850 compromise introduced by US Senator Henry Clay was passed.

In 1854, Olds was not re-elected. From 1857 he lived in Lancaster. During the Civil War , Olds was a staunch opponent of the radical wing of the Republican Party . These responded to Olds' criticism with his arrest for lack of loyalty. When he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Union, he was interned for some time at Fort Lafayette in 1862 . During that time he was re-elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in absentia. After his release he was able to exercise this mandate between 1862 and 1866. He also worked in the trade again. Edson Olds died in Lancaster on January 24, 1869 and was buried in Circleville.

Web links

• Edson B. Olds in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Edson B. Olds in the database of Find a Grave (English)