James Gunn (politician, 1843)

James Gunn (1899)

James Gunn (born March 6, 1843 in County Fermanagh , Ireland , †  November 5, 1911 in Boise , Idaho ) was an American politician . Between 1897 and 1899 he represented the state of Idaho in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and advancement

James Gunn left Ireland with his parents when he was still a child. The family settled in Wisconsin , where James attended public schools. He then studied at the Notre Dame Academy in Indiana , whereupon he worked for some time as a teacher and studied law, but without ever working as a lawyer. During the Civil War , Gunn served in the Union Army from 1862, where he made it to captain. In 1866 he moved to the Colorado Territory , where he stayed for nine years. During this time he was mayor of the city of Georgetown for three years . In 1875 he moved to Virginia City , Nevada . James Gunn came to the Idaho Territory via California in 1881 .

Political career

James Gunn became a member of the Populist Party that existed for several decades at the end of the 19th century and later merged with the Democratic Party . In 1890 he was a member of the first Idaho Senate and a delegate of his state to the Trans-Mississippi Congress in Denver . Between 1892 and 1897 he was the newspaper "Boise Sentinel" out.

In the years 1892 and 1894 James Gunn ran unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives. In the congressional elections of 1896 he was then elected to this Chamber of Parliament, where he replaced Edgar Wilson on March 4, 1897 . But Gunn could only complete one term in Congress . In the next election in 1898 he was defeated by Wilson, who thus regained his old seat.

After his tenure in Congress, James Gunn retired from politics. Between 1901 and 1903 he still ran an Idaho Soldier's Home .

Web links

• James Gunn in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James Gunn in the database of Find a Grave (English)