Hugh Reid BELKNAP, Congress, IL (1860-1901)

BELKNAP, Hugh Reid, a Representative from Illinois; born in Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, September 1, 1860; attended the public schools, Adams Academy, Quincy, Mass., and Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; at the age of eighteen entered the service of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. and worked in various capacities until he retired in 1892 to become superintendent of the South Side Rapid Transit Railroad of Chicago; successfully contested as a Republican the election of Lawrence E. McGann to the Fifty-fourth Congress; reelected to the Fifty-fifth Congress and served from December 27, 1895, to March 3, 1899; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1898 to the Fifty-sixth Congress; resided in Chicago, Ill., until 1901; appointed a paymaster in the United States Army with the rank of major and served from February 2, 1901, until his death in Calamba, Laguna, P.I., November 12, 1901; interment in Arlington National Cemetery.

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