Cornelius Cole, U.S. Senator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Cole

Cornelius Cole (September 17, 1822 – November 3, 1924) served a single term in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican representing California from 1863 to 1865, and another term in the United States Senate from 1867 to 1873.

Life

He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1847. In his lifetime he practiced law in his adopted state of California first in San Francisco, then in Sacramento. After returning to California following his retirement from national politics he practiced in San Francisco again and finally in Los Angeles with his eldest son Willoughby.

On June 27, 1922, Cole spoke before Congress, as it was in recess, for a period of 5 minutes at the age of 99. When he died in 1924 at age 102 he was the oldest former U.S. Senator in American history, and has yet to be surpassed.

On March 8, 1856 Cole organized the California branch of the Republican Party, acting as secretary and writing the manifesto. Of the seven men who joined him were Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and the Crocker brothers Edwin B. and Charles Crocker. Later that summer of 1856, Cole started the Sacramento "Daily California Times" (also published weekly) with James McClatchy as an editor. It was short lived lasting only a few months after the 1856 National election.

Additionally, he was nominated on the Republican ticket for Clerk of Sacramento Court, but failed to get elected. In 1858 he was elected as District Attorney of Sacramento County. In 1862 he and his family moved to Santa Cruz located on Monterey Bay. It was from there he went to the US Congress in 1863.

In 1880 he moved to southern California where he owned one of the original Spanish/Mexican landgrants, what is now known as Hollywood, then was dubbed Colegrove after his wife, Olive Colegrove. There are several streets now named after the family; Cole St., Willoughby Ave., Eleanor St. and Seward St.

The eastern California community of Coleville in Mono County is named for Cornelius Cole.

Cornelius Cole

• Birth: Sep. 17, 1822 Lodi, Seneca County, New York, USA
• Death: Nov. 3, 1924 Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA

US Senator. He graduated from Connecticut's Wesleyan University in 1847 and studied law at William H. Seward's firm in Auburn. He was admitted to the bar in 1848, and soon afterwards moved to San Francisco to practice law. In 1851 he moved to Sacramento, where he practiced law and became active in politics, joining the Republican Party at its start, and serving on the Republican National Committee from 1856 to 1860. He was District Attorney from 1859 to 1862, when he moved to Santa Cruz. In 1863 he was elected commander of a Santa Cruz cavalry troop raised for the Union Army during the Civil War and commissioned as a Captain, but he did serve because he had been elected to Congress. In 1862 he was a successful candidate for the US House, and he served one term, 1863 to 1865. In 1866 he was elected to the US Senate, and he served one term, 1867 to 1873. During his final two years in the Senate he was Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. After leaving the Senate he practiced law until retiring to Colegrove in Los Angeles County in 1880.

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7899

COLE, Cornelius 1822-1924

PERSONAL: Born September 17, 1822, in Lodi, NY; died of pneumonia November 3, 1924, in Los Angeles, CA; son of David and Rachael (Townsend) Cole; married Olive Colegrove, 1853 (died, 1918); children: Seward, Schuyler, George T., Emma Brown, Lucretia Waring, Mrs. Reginald H. Jones, Mrs. James G. McLaughlin. Education: Attended Ovid Academy, Lima Seminary, and Hobart College; Wesleyan University, B.A., 1847; studied law in Auburn, NY, 1848, and at law offices of William R. Seward. Politics: Republican. Religion: Methodist.

CAREER: Politician and lawyer. Admitted to the Bar of New York State, 1848; gold miner in California, 1849-c.50; practiced law in San Francisco, CA, 1850-51, and in Sacramento, CA, beginning 1852; Sacramento Daily Times, editor, began 1856; Republican National Committee, elected member, 1856-60; City and County of Sacramento, district attorney, 1859-62; U.S. House of Representatives, at-large representative from California, 1863-65; U.S. Senate, senator from California, 1867-73, chairman of Committee on Appropriations, 1871-73; practiced law in California, 1873-c.1922. Central Pacific Railroad Company, Sacramento, organizer. Military service: Union Army, commissioned as a captain, 1863.

Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/cole-corneli...

---------------------------

Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2010651245/