John Quincy Adams Tufts (July 12, 1840 – September 4, 1902) was an American Republican politician from Iowa and California.
The son of Servetus Tufts and Emily (Dudley), John Q. was born near Aurora, Indiana (according to one record) or Wilton, Maine (according to another), Tufts moved to Muscatine County, Iowa, with his parents in 1852. He attended common schools as a child and then Cornell College. He married Susan Shaw Cook on October 10, 1861. She was the daughter of Henry and Phebe (Norton) Cook, was educated at Leigh University and prior to their marriage was a school teacher.[1] They had eleven children.[1]
In 1858, Tufts moved to Cedar County, Iowa, and engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Tufts was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives in 1870, 1872 and 1874. In his final term he was the chairman of the Railroad Committee of the Iowa House, and was considered a strong advocate for railroad regulation.[2]
In 1874 he was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He did not run for re-election in 1876. He served in Congress from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1877. He was also a United States Indian Agent in the Union Agency at Muskogee in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), from 1879 to 1887.[3]
During his tenure as Indian Commissioner, he organized the first unit of the United States Indian Police in February 1880.[4] In his annual report to the Secretary of the Interior, John Q. Tufts consistently asked to have the number and pay increased for the United States Indian Police. He urged the government to resolve the question of citizenship in the Indian Nation and he supported the freedman's claims to citizenship in the Cherokee Nation. John Q. Tufts also asked that laws be passed to provide imprisonment of intruders who return after being removed for the theft of coal and timber. The intruders were often whites who stole with impunity from Indian lands.[5][6]
Tufts moved to Los Angeles, California in 1888, where he engaged in the real estate business. He served as president of the Los Angeles City Council from 1892 to 1896.
He died in Los Angeles at age 68. He is interred in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Aylett R. Cotton |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877 |
Succeeded by Hiram Price |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Austin C. Shafer |
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 5th ward 1892 – 1896 |
Succeeded by Freeman G. Teed |
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