Michael GRIFFIN, Congress, WI (1842-1899)

GRIFFIN, Michael, a Representative from Wisconsin; born in County Clare, Ireland, September 9, 1842; immigrated with his parents to Canada in 1847 and to Ohio in 1851; moved to Wisconsin in 1856 and settled in Newport, Sauk County; attended the common schools of Ohio and Wisconsin; enlisted in the Union Army September 11, 1861, as a private in Company E, Twelfth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, attaining the rank of first lieutenant; moved to Kilbourn City, Wis., in 1865; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1868 and commenced practice in Kilbourn City; cashier of the Bank of Kilbourn 1871-1876; member of the County Board of Columbia County, Wis., in 1874 and 1875; member of the State assembly in 1876; moved to Eau Claire, Wis., in 1876; city attorney of Eau Claire in 1878 and 1879; served in the State senate in 1880 and 1881; department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1887 and 1888; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George B. Shaw and at the same election to the Fifty-fourth Congress; reelected to the Fifty-fifth Congress and served from November 5, 1894, to March 3, 1899; was not a candidate for renomination in 1898; appointed chairman of the State tax commission by Governor Schofield May 28, 1899; died in Eau Claire, Wis., December 29, 1899; interment in Forest Hill Cemetery.

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