Benjamin Todd Frederick

Benjamin Todd Frederick (October 5, 1834 – November 3, 1903) was an American miner, businessman, real estate agent, municipal official, and Democratic politician who represented Iowa in the United States House of Representatives during a significant period in American history. He was born in Fredericktown, Knox County, Ohio, where he attended local schools in his youth before beginning a career that would take him across the country and eventually into national politics.

In 1857, Frederick moved west to Marysville, California, where he engaged in placer mining, participating in the broader mid-nineteenth-century movement of Americans seeking opportunity in the mining regions of the Pacific Coast. After two years he returned to the Midwest, settling in Marshalltown, Iowa, in 1859. There he entered the foundry and machine business, an enterprise in which he remained engaged from 1865 to 1888. His work as a businessman in Marshalltown established him as a prominent local figure and provided the foundation for his later involvement in public affairs.

Frederick’s public career began at the local level. In Marshalltown he served as a member of the city council from 1874 to 1877, participating in the governance and development of the growing community. He was also a member of the local school board for three terms, reflecting his engagement with public education and civic improvement. Through these roles he became well known in Marshalltown and within the Democratic Party in Iowa, which would later support his candidacies for Congress.

Frederick first sought national office in 1882, when he was the Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives from Iowa’s 5th congressional district in the 48th Congress. In the general election he faced Republican James Wilson in a very close race. The State of Iowa certified Wilson as the winner, but Frederick contested the result in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although the House was controlled by his own party, the contest remained unresolved for most of the Congress, as Republicans mounted a prolonged filibuster to prevent a vote on the case. The stalemate continued until the final hours of the second session. On the morning of March 4, 1885, inauguration day and the last day of the 48th Congress, the House finally declared Frederick the winner of the 1882 election, and he was formally seated only minutes before the Congress adjourned. The filibuster ended when it became clear that its continuation would block consideration of a popular bill to allow former President Ulysses S. Grant, then gravely ill, to retire with the benefits of a general. Because the House rules prevented taking up the Grant bill until the contested election cases were resolved, Wilson announced that he relinquished his claim to the seat, clearing the way for Frederick to be seated and for the Grant bill to pass.

By the time he was seated in March 1885, Frederick had already secured a new mandate from the voters. In the 1884 elections he again ran as the Democratic candidate in Iowa’s 5th congressional district and defeated Republican Milo P. Smith, winning a full term in the 49th Congress. After winning the Democratic nomination for the 1884 elections in Iowa’s 5th congressional district, he was elected for one term (1885–1887) to the United States House of Representatives. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Iowa, Benjamin Todd Frederick contributed to the legislative process during 2 terms in office—his brief service at the close of the 48th Congress and his full term in the 49th Congress—participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a period marked by debates over economic policy, veterans’ benefits, and federal administration. In 1886, he sought and accepted the Democratic nomination for another term, but was defeated in the general election by Republican Daniel Kerr, ending his congressional career.

Following his service in Congress and the conclusion of his long association with the foundry and machine business in Marshalltown, Frederick relocated to the West Coast. In 1887 he moved to San Diego, California, where he entered the real estate business, contributing to the development of the rapidly growing city. His public service continued at the federal level when he was appointed collector of internal revenue for San Diego, a position he held from 1893 to 1902, overseeing the administration of federal revenue laws in the region.

Benjamin Todd Frederick died in San Diego on November 3, 1903, at the age of 69. He was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego.