Ephraim R. Eckley Explained

Ephraim Ralph Eckley
State:Ohio
District:17th
Term Start:March 4, 1863
Term End:March 3, 1869
Preceded:James R. Morris
Succeeded:Jacob A. Ambler
State Senate2:Ohio
District2:Jefferson & Carroll counties
Term Start2:December 4, 1843
Term End2:December 5, 1847
Preceded2:James Mitchell
Succeeded2:Alden J. Bennett
State Senate3:Ohio
District3:Tuscarawas & Carroll counties
Term Start3:December 3, 1849
Term End3:January 4, 1852
Preceded3:Alden J. Bennett
Succeeded3:district eliminated
State House4:Ohio
District4:Carroll County
Term Start4:January 2, 1854
Term End4:January 6, 1856
Preceded4:Robert George
Succeeded4:Silas Potts
Birth Date:9 December 1811
Birth Place:Mount Pleasant, Ohio, U.S.
Death Place:Carrollton, Ohio, U.S.
Resting Place:Grand View Cemetery
Carrollton, Ohio, U.S.
Restingplacecoordinates:40.5692°N -81.0819°W
Party:Republican
Whig
Spouse:Martha L. Brown
Children:5, including Harvey J.
Alma Mater:Vermillion Institute
Signature:Ephraim R. Eckley signature.jpg
Allegiance:United States
Branch:Union Army
Serviceyears:1861-1863
Rank:Colonel
Unit:26th Ohio Infantry
80th Ohio Infantry

Ephraim Ralph Eckley (December 9, 1811 – March 27, 1908) was an American Civil War veteran and three-term U.S. Representative from Ohio, serving from 1863 to 1869.

Early life

Eckley was born near Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio, but moved with his parents to Hayesville, Ohio, in 1816.

He attended the common schools and was graduated from Vermillion Institute, Hayesville, Ohio. He moved to Carrollton, Ohio, in 1833 and taught school.

He studied law under William Johnston and was admitted to the bar in 1836; he commenced practice in Carrollton.

He served as member of the State senate 1843-1846, 1849, and 1850 but was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio in 1851. He also served in the State house of representatives 1853-1855 but was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1853 to the United States Senate.

He served as delegate to the first Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in 1856.

Civil War

During the Civil War, Eckley served in the Union Army as the colonel of the 26th Ohio Infantry, and later of the 80th Ohio Infantry.[1]

Postbellum

Eckley was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Congresses (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869) but was not a candidate for renomination in 1868.

He resumed the practice of law in Carrollton, Ohio. He died March 27, 1908, in Carrollton, Ohio, and was interred in Grand View Cemetery.

He married Martha L. Brown and had five children, including Harvey J. His son Harvey was an Ohio state senator and judge.[2] [3]

See also

References

Retrieved on 2008-10-12

Notes and References

  1. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Eckley was "brevetted brigadier general." No source supports this. The definitive source, United States War Department, The Military Secretary's Office, Memorandum Relative to the General Officers in the Armies of the United States During the Civil War, 1861–1865 (Compiled from Official Records.) 1906 does not list Eckley as a brevet or actual rank general. None of the reliable modern historians who have books compiling lists of and brief bios of Union generals, Hunt and Brown, Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990., Warner, Eicher and Eicher and Sifakis list him as a brevet general.
  2. Book: History of Carroll and Harrison Counties . Eckley . H.J. . Perry . W.T. . 1921 . The Lewis Publishing Co . 62 . 1 .
  3. Book: History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio. H. J. Eckley. William T. Perry. 1921. 2. 1032–1033. 2023-08-07.