Preceded by Gaston A. Robbins Preceded by Gaston A. Robbins Party Republican Party Succeeded by Gaston A. Robbins Role American Politician | Preceded by Thomas S. Plowman Name William Aldrich Succeeded by Thomas S. Plowman Succeeded by Sydney J. Bowie Resigned March 3, 1901 | |
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Died October 30, 1925, Birmingham, Alabama, United States | ||
William Farrington Aldrich (March 11, 1853 – October 30, 1925) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from Alabama. He was brother of Truman Heminway Aldrich and great-great-grandfather of William J. Edwards.
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Biography
Born in Palmyra, New York, Aldrich was the son of William F. and Louisa Maria (Klapp) Aldrich. He attended public schools; and moved with his father to New York City in 1865, where he attended several schools and graduated from Warren's Military Academy in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1873. He moved to Alabama in 1874. He leased the coal mines in Aldrich from his brother Truman, who was prospecting for new coal seams in the area. He was married on April 16, 1889, to writer and editor Josephine Cables, who died in 1917. He married Fannie Spire on July 15, 1920.
Career
Aldrich was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress, defeating Gaston A. Robbins; to attend the Fifty-fifth Congress, defeating Thomas S. Plowman; to attend the Fifty-sixth Congress, again defeating Robbins. He served from March 13, 1896, to March 3, 1901.
Declining to run for reelection in 1900, Aldrich was involved in mining and manufacturing and built up the town that bears his name. He was editor, owner and publisher of the Birmingham (Alabama) Times. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1904. He engaged in the development of mineral lands until his death.
Death
Aldrich died in Birmingham, Alabama, October 30, 1925 (age 72 years, 233 days). He was cremated and his ashes are interred in the family vault located in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
William F. Aldrich was the last Republican to represent Alabama in Congress until 1965.