Oscar S. Gifford

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Oscar S. Gifford

Oscar Sherman Gifford (born October 20, 1842 in Watertown , Jefferson County , New York , † January 16, 1913 in Canton , South Dakota ) was an American politician . Between 1885 and 1889 he represented the Dakota Territory as a delegate in the US House of Representatives and from 1889 to 1891 he was Congressman for the second constituency of the state of South Dakota.

Early years

Oscar Gifford moved with his parents to Wisconsin and then in 1853 to Brown County , Illinois . He attended public schools in these two states. Between 1863 and 1865 he took part in the civil war as a soldier in the Union Army . After the war he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1871. He then began working in his new profession in Canton, Dakota Territory.

Political advancement to Congress

Gifford became a member of the Republican Party . In 1874 he became a district attorney in Lincoln County. Between 1881 and 1882 he was mayor of Canton. In 1883 he was a delegate to the constituent assembly of the future state of South Dakota, which met in Sioux Falls . In the congressional elections of 1884 Gifford was elected as his party's candidate to succeed John B. Raymond in the US House of Representatives. There he represented the interests of the Dakota Territory as a delegate between March 4, 1885 and March 3, 1889 for two legislative terms.

In 1889 this territory was dissolved and the present-day states of North Dakota and South Dakota were created. In the first congressional elections in South Dakota, Oscar Gifford was elected to the US Congress as a member of the second constituency of that state . Between November 2, 1889 and March 3, 1891 he was a member of the US House of Representatives with voting rights, while as a delegate he previously had no voting rights there.

After his tenure in Congress, Gifford worked as a lawyer in Canton. He died there on January 16, 1913.

Web links

  • Oscar S. Gifford in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
personal data
SURNAME Gifford, Oscar S.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gifford, Oskar S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH Watertown , New York
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 1913
Place of death Canton , South Dakota