William G. DONNAN, Congress, IA (1834-1908)

DONNAN, William G., a Representative from Iowa; born in West Charlton, N.Y., June 30, 1834; attended the district schools and Cambridge Academy; was graduated from Union College, New York, in 1856; moved to Independence, Iowa, in 1856; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1856 and commenced practice at Independence in 1857; treasurer and recorder of Buchanan County 1857-1862; entered the Union Army as a private in Company H, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, in 1862; promoted to the grade of first lieutenant and brevetted captain and major; was adjutant on the staff of Gen. James J. Gilbert; member of the State senate in 1868 and 1870; elected as a Republican to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1875); declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress; resumed the practice of law at Independence; delegate at large to the Republican National Convention in 1884; chairman of the Republican State central committee 1884-1886; again a member of the State senate 1884-1886; died in Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa, December 4, 1908; interment in Oakwood Cemetery.

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