John H. Ketcham Explained

John Henry Ketcham
Office:Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
Term Start:March 4, 1897
Term End:November 4, 1906
Preceded:Jacob LeFever
Succeeded:Samuel McMillan
Constituency: (1897–1903)
(1903–1906)
Term Start3:March 4, 1877
Term End3:March 3, 1893
Preceded3:John O. Whitehouse
Succeeded3:William Ryan
Constituency3: (1877–1885)
(1885–1893)
Term Start5:March 4, 1865
Term End5:March 3, 1873
Preceded5:Homer Augustus Nelson
Succeeded5:Charles St. John
Office6:Commissioner of the District of Columbia[1]
Term Start6:July 3, 1874
Term End6:June 30, 1877
Predecessor6:position established
Successor6:Thomas B. Bryan
Office7:Member of the New York State Senate
Term Start7:1860
Term End7:1861
Constituency7:11th District
Office8:Member of the New York State Assembly
Term Start8:1856
Term End8:1857
Constituency8:Dutchess County, 1st District
Birth Date:21 December 1832
Birth Place:Dover Plains, New York
Death Place:New York City, New York
Resting Place:Valley View Cemetery, Dover Plains, New York
Signature:Signature of John Henry Ketcham (1832–1906).png
Allegiance:United States of America
Union
Branch:United States Army
Union Army
Serviceyears:1862–1865
Rank: Brigadier General
Brevet Major General
Battles:American Civil War

John Henry Ketcham (December 21, 1832  - November 4, 1906) was a United States representative from New York for over 33 years. He also served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Biography

John H. Ketcham was born in Dover Plains, New York on December 21, 1832.[2] He pursued an academic course and graduated from Suffield Academy at Suffield, Connecticut. He then became interested in agricultural pursuits, as well as politics. He was Supervisor of the Town of Dover in 1854 and 1855; a member of the New York State Assembly (Dutchess County, 1st District) in 1856 and 1857; and a member of the New York State Senate (11th District) in 1860 and 1861.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and was appointed as colonel of the 150th New York Volunteer Infantry, on October 11, 1862. Ketcham was brevetted as a brigadier general on December 6, 1864, and promoted to the full rank of brigadier general in the volunteer army on April 1, 1865. He was brevetted major general of Volunteers March 13, 1865.

Following the war, Ketcham resumed his political career. He was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1865  - March 3, 1873). He was the chairman of the Committee on Public Lands Forty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress.

Ketcham was a Commissioner of the District of Columbia from July 3, 1874, until June 30, 1877, when he resigned. During this time, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1876. He was subsequently elected as a Republican to the Forty-fifth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1893). He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State (Fifty-seventh through Fifty-ninth Congresses). Ketcham declined to be a candidate for renomination.

He re-entered politics and became a delegate to the 1896 Republican National Convention and was then elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1897, until his death in New York City on November 4, 1906.[2] John Ketcham is buried in Valley View Cemetery in Dover Plains, New York.

John H. Ketcham Elementary School in Washington, DC is named for him.

See also

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Tindall . William . Origin and Government of the District of Columbia . U.S. Government Printing Office . 210 . 1 January 2021 . en.
  2. News: General Ketcham Died Last Night . The Evening Republican . New York . 3 . 1906-11-05 . 2022-05-02 . Newspapers.com.