William Loughridge

William Loughridge

William Loughridge (July 11, 1827 – September 26, 1889) was a pioneer attorney, judge, and three-term United States Congressman from Iowa.

He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, where he attended the common schools. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1849 and commenced practice in Mansfield, Ohio. He moved to Iowa in 1852 and settled in Oskaloosa, in Mahaska County.

He served as a member of the Iowa Senate from 1857 to 1860. In 1861 he became a judge of the sixth judicial circuit of Iowa, serving until 1867.

In the 1866 Republican district convention for Iowa's 4th congressional district, Loughridge upset incumbent Congressman Josiah B. Grinnell, winning (by thirteen votes) the nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives seat then held by Grinnell.^[1] After winning the general election and serving in the Fortieth United States Congress, Loughridge was re-elected in 1868 and served in the Forty-first United States Congress. In the 1870 Republican district convention, Loughridge was upset by Madison Miner Walden.^[2] Walden won the general election.^[3] However, when Walden ran for renomination in 1872 (in what was reapportioned in 1871 as Iowa's 6th congressional district), Loughridge turned the tables on Walden, ousting Walden.^[4]

Loughridge served only one term representing the new Sixth District. He sought renomination, but in the 1874 district convention ballotting, he finished behind his eventual successor, Ezekiel S. Sampson, and Sampson's successor, James B. Weaver (who had not yet left the Republican Party for the Greenback Party).^[5] In all, Loughridge served in Congress from March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1871, and from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1875.

He died near Reading, Pennsylvania and is buried in Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa.

References

• William Loughridge at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa 1st W. Thompson Miller Henn A. Hall S. Curtis J. F. Wilson McCrary Stone McCoid B. Hall Gear Seerley Gear S. Clark Hedge Kennedy Kopp Eicher Martin Schwengel Schmidhauser Schwengel Mezvinsky Leach Nussle Braley Blum 2nd Leffler L. Clark J. P. Cook Thorington Davis Vandever Price Smyth W. Wolf Cotton Tufts Price Farwell Murphy Hayes G. Curtis Lane Rumple Wade Dawson Pepper Vollmer Hull Letts B. Jacobsen W. Jacobsen Talle L. Wolf Bromwell Culver Blouin Tauke Nussle Leach Loebsack 3rd Allison Donnan Ainsworth Burdick Updegraff Henderson Birdsall Pickett Connolly Sweet Robinson Willford Gwynne Gross Grassley Evans Nagle Lightfoot Boswell Latham Young 4th Grinnell Loughridge Walden Pratt Deering Weller Fuller Sweney Butler Updegraff Haugen Biermann Talle Le Compte Carter Kyl Bandstra Kyl N. Smith Ganske Latham King 5th Kasson G. Dodge Palmer J. Wilson R. Clark W. G. Thompson J. Wilson Frederick Kerr J. Hamilton Cousins Good Cole Thruston Le Compte Cunningham N. Smith Scherle Harkin Lightfoot Grandy Latham King 6th A. Hubbard Pomeroy Orr Loughridge Sampson Weaver Cutts J. C. Cook Cutts J. C. Cook Weaver Lacey White Lacey D. Hamilton Kendall Kirkpatrick Ramseyer Dowell Utterback Dowell Goodwin Cunningham Gilchrist J. I. Dolliver Coad Hoeven Greigg Mayne Bedell Grandy 7th Kasson Cummings E. Gillette Kasson H. Smith Conger Hays Hull Prouty Dowell Wearin Jensen Hansen Scherle 8th McDill Sapp Hepburn Anderson Flick Hepburn Jamieson Towner Evans Thurston Gilchrist Hoeven 9th Orr Oliver Carpenter Pusey Lyman Reed Bowman Hager McPherson W. Smith Green Vincent Swanson G. Gillette Harrington Narey 10th Holmes J. P. Dolliver Conner Woods Dickinson Gilchrist 11th Struble Perkins Thomas E. Hubbard Scott Steele Scott Boies Campbell AL Hastings and Leffler Terr Chapman A. Dodge