Charles Allen SUMNER, Congress, CA (1835-1903)

SUMNER, Charles Allen, a Representative from California; born in Great Barrington, Mass., on August 2, 1835; attended Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and engaged in patent practice; moved to California in 1856 and settled in San Francisco; editor of the Herald and Mirror in 1861; during the Civil War was appointed November 26, 1862, to be captain and assistant quartermaster of United States Volunteers, and served until his resignation on March 30, 1864; moved to Virginia City, Nev.; member of the State senate 1865-1868 and served as president pro tempore for one session; returned to San Francisco in 1868 and became editor of the Herald; was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1885); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1884 to the Forty-ninth Congress; resumed the practice of law; died in San Francisco, Calif., January 31, 1903; interment in the George H. Thomas Post plot at the Presidio.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present