William Wallace BOWERS, Congress, CA (1834-1917)

BOWERS, William Wallace, a Representative from California; born in Whitestown, Oneida County, N.Y., October 20, 1834; attended the common schools; moved to Wisconsin in 1854; enlisted as a private in Company I, First Wisconsin Cavalry, February 22, 1862; discharged from the service as second sergeant February 22, 1865; moved to San Diego, Calif., in 1869; engaged in ranching; member of the State assembly in 1873 and 1874; appointed collector of customs of the port of San Diego, Calif., September 25, 1874, and served until his resignation on February 3, 1879; owned and operated a hotel in San Diego 1884-1891; member of the State senate 1887-1889; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1897); chairman, Committee on Revision of the Laws (Fifty-fourth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress; again appointed collector of customs of the port of San Diego, Calif., on March 15, 1902, and served until March 4, 1906; resided in San Diego, Calif., in retirement until his death there on May 2, 1917; interment in the Masonic Cemetery.

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