(February 3, 1805 — December 25, 1866) Samuel Ryan Curtis, a Representative from Iowa; born near Champlain, Clinton County, N.Y., February 3, 1805; moved to Ohio, where he attended the public schools; appointed a cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1827, and was graduated in July 1831, as brevet second lieutenant in the Seventh Infantry; resigned in June 1832; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Zanesville, Ohio; chief engineer of the Muskingum River improvements from April 1837 to May 1839; served in the war with Mexico as adjutant general of Ohio and colonel of the Third Regiment, Ohio Infantry; honorably discharged June 24, 1847; resumed the practice of law; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and Thirty-seventh Congresses and served from March 4, 1857, to August 4, 1861, when he resigned; member of the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; appointed colonel of the Second Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, June 1, 1861; brigadier general of Volunteers May 17, 1861; major general of Volunteers March 21, 1862; mustered out April 30, 1866; appointed United States peace commissioner to treat with the Indians in 1865; appointed commissioner to examine and report on the condition of the Union Pacific Railroad, and served from November 1865 to April 1866; died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on December 25, 1866; interment in Oakland Cemetery, Keokuk, Iowa. [Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C001013]

(20 October, 1816 -- 7 February, 1872) Grimes was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Deering, N.H., Grimes moved west after studying law. Grimes was a member of the Iowa territorial house of representatives 1838-1839 and 1843-1844. Grimes also served as governor of Iowa from 1854 to 1858. Grimes was then elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1859 and was reelected in 1865 and served until he resigned due to poor health. [Source: 'Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774- Present', available at http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp]

(26 August, 1820 -- 5 October, 1899) Harlan was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Clark County, Ill., Harlan moved to Iowa in 1845. In 1850, Harlan was admitted to the bar and practiced in Iowa City. Harlan was elected as a Free Soiler to the United States Senate in 1855, was reelected in 1860, and served from January 29, 1857 until May 15, 1865. Harlan resigned to accept an appointment as Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Andrew Johnson from May 15, 1865 to July 27, 1866. After resigning from this position, Harlan again was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1873. [Source: 'Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774- Present', available at http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp]

(March 31, 1817 — July 23, 1893) William Vandever, a Representative from Iowa and from California; born in Baltimore, Md., March 31, 1817; attended the common schools and pursued an academic course; moved to Illinois in 1839 and to Iowa in 1851; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1852 and commenced practice in Dubuque, Iowa; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses and served from March 4, 1859, to September 24, 1861, when he was mustered into the Union Army as colonel of the Ninth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, never having resigned his seat in Congress; in the Thirty-seventh Congress, House Committee on Elections ruled that he was not entitled to his seat, but House did not remove him; promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers in 1862 and brevetted a major general in 1865; member of the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; resumed the practice of law in Dubuque, Iowa; appointed United States Indian inspector by President Grant in 1873, and served until 1877; moved to San Buenaventura, Calif., in 1884; elected as a Republican from California to the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1887-March 3, 1891); was not a candidate for renomination in 1890; died in Ventura, Calif., July 23, 1893; interment in Ventura Cemetery. [Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/V000031]

(19 October, 1828 -- 22 April, 1895) Wilson was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Newark, Licking County, Ohio, Wilson studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851, practicing in Newark, Ohio. Wilson moved to Jefferson County, Iowa, in 1853, and was a member of the constitutional convention in 1857. Wilson was a member of the State house of representatives in 1857 and 1859. Additionally he was a member of the State senate from 1859 to 1861. Wilson was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Samuel R. Curtis; he was reelected to the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Congresses and served from October 8, 1861 to March 3, 1869. Later, Wilson was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1882; he was reelected in 1888 and served from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1895. [Source: 'Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774- Present', available at http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp]