Joseph H. Defrees

Joseph H. Defrees

Joseph Hutton Defrees (born May 13, 1812 in Sparta , White County , Tennessee , †  December 21, 1885 in Goshen , Indiana ) was an American politician . Between 1865 and 1867 he represented the state of Indiana in the US House of Representatives .

Life

In 1819 Joseph Defrees came to Piqua, Ohio state with his parents , where he later attended public schools. Between 1826 and 1829 he made an apprenticeship in blacksmithing; after that he also learned the printing trade. In 1831 Defrees moved to South Bend , Indiana, where he founded the Northwestern Pioneer newspaper. Two years later he moved to Goshen, where he worked in commerce and banking. Between 1835 and 1840 Defrees was Sheriff's chief of police in Elkhart County . In 1849 and again in 1872 he was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives . From 1850 to 1854 he was a member of the State Senate .

Defrees joined the Republican Party, founded in 1854 . In the congressional election of 1864 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the tenth constituency of Indiana , where he succeeded Joseph K. Edgerton on March 4, 1865 . Since he renounced another candidacy in 1866, he could only complete one term in Congress until March 3, 1867 . During this time the civil war ended . Thereafter, the dispute between President Andrew Johnson and the Republican Party overshadowed the work of Congress.

After leaving the US House of Representatives, Joseph Defrees resumed his previous activities. He also worked in the milling business. He was involved in building the hydraulic waterworks in Goshen. He was also a director and later president of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad . Joseph Defrees died on December 21, 1885 in Goshen, where he was also buried.

Web links

• Joseph H. Defrees in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Joseph H. DeFrees in the database of Find a Grave (English)