Joseph Lafayette RAWLINS, Congress, UT (1850-1926)

RAWLINS, Joseph Lafayette, a Delegate from the Territory of Utah and a Senator from Utah; born at Mill Creek, Salt Lake County, Utah, March 28, 1850; attended the common schools and the University of Utah, Salt Lake City; pursued a classical course at Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.; professor at the University of Deseret, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1873-1875; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Salt Lake City, Utah; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893-March 3, 1895); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1903; unsuccessful candidate for renomination; continued the practice of law; withdrew from public life and active business in 1921; died in Salt Lake City, Utah, May 24, 1926; interment in Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Bibliography

Harrow, Joan. “Joseph L. Rawlins, Father of Utah Statehood.” Utah Historical Quarterly 44 (Winter 1976): 59-75; Rawlins, Joseph L. ”The Unfavored Few”: The Autobiography of Joseph L. Rawlins. Carmel, CA: the author, 1956.

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