William Aldrich

William Aldrich (January 19, 1820 – December 3, 1885) was an American Republican politician who served as a Representative from Illinois in the United States Congress from 1877 to 1883. Over the course of three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, he participated actively in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Illinois constituents during a significant period in American political and economic development following the Civil War.

Aldrich was born on January 19, 1820, in Greenfield Center, in the Town of Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York. He attended local schools in his youth and, in addition to his own studies, taught school for a time, gaining early experience in education and public service. These formative years in upstate New York provided him with the basic education and community grounding that would later support his career in business and politics.

As a young man, Aldrich left New York and moved west, first to Michigan and then to Two Rivers, Wisconsin. In Two Rivers he established himself as a shopkeeper and manufacturer, reflecting the broader mid-nineteenth-century expansion of commerce and industry in the Great Lakes region. His engagement in local affairs led to his appointment as superintendent of schools from 1855 to 1856, a role in which he oversaw educational matters in the community. He further advanced in public life by serving as chairman of the county board of supervisors from 1857 to 1858, demonstrating growing influence in local governance.

In 1859, Aldrich was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, marking his entry into state-level politics. His legislative service in Wisconsin coincided with the turbulent years leading up to the Civil War, a period in which questions of union, expansion, and governance were increasingly contested. In 1861 he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he opened another shop and continued his career in business. Chicago’s rapid growth as a commercial center provided Aldrich with new opportunities and placed him in a major hub of Republican Party activity in the postwar era.

Aldrich’s political career in Illinois began at the municipal level. In 1876 he served in the Chicago City Council, participating in the administration and oversight of one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. His work on the council helped establish his reputation within the Republican Party and among local voters, setting the stage for his election to national office.

In 1877, Aldrich entered the United States House of Representatives as a Republican Congressman from Illinois. He served three terms, remaining in office until 1883. During these years he contributed to the legislative process in the post-Reconstruction period, when Congress grappled with issues of economic policy, infrastructure, veterans’ affairs, and the integration of a rapidly industrializing society. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process at the federal level and worked to represent the interests of his Illinois district within the broader national debate.

After leaving Congress in 1883, Aldrich’s public profile diminished, but his long record of service at local, state, and federal levels marked him as a significant Republican figure of his time. He died on December 3, 1885, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Aldrich was interred in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, a resting place for many of the city’s prominent political and business leaders. His family’s political legacy continued through his son, James Franklin Aldrich, who also became a Congressman and went on to hold the same congressional seat from Illinois that his father had once represented.