Adin Ballou Capron (January 9, 1841 – March 17, 1911) was an American miller and politician from the U.S. state of Rhode Island. He served in the American Civil War and was a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Early life and military career

Born in Mendon, Massachusetts, Capron attended Woonsocket High School and

Westbrook Seminary Westbrook College was a liberal arts college in Portland, Maine, founded 1831 as Westbrook Seminary in Westbrook, Maine. It closed in 1996 and merged with the University of New England, which uses its old campus. History In 1831, Westbrook Semin ...

, near Portland, Maine. He settled in Stillwater, Rhode Island, and engaged in milling and dealing in grain. He enlisted as a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the

2nd Rhode Island Regiment The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Hitchcock's Regiment and the 11th Continental Infantry) was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the Rhode Island Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight c ...

of the Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry in May 1861. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major on July 11, 1861, and commissioned lieutenant in September 1861. He served in the Signal Corps until the close of the Civil War, having been commissioned first lieutenant on March 3, 1863, and subsequently promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

by brevet.

Political career

From 1887-1892, Capron served as member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and was speaker of the State House in 1891 and 1892. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress. Capron was elected as a Republican candidate to the

55th United States Congress The 55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to M ...

and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving in Congress from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1911. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1910. After leaving Congress, he resumed his former business activities in Stillwater, where he died March 17, 1911. He was interred in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island.

Family life

Capron was the son of Carlile Willis Capron and Abigail (Bates) Capron. He married Irene Ballou in August 1868 and she died ten months later. Following her death, Capron married Phebe Almira Mowry in April 1874. Capron and Phebe had four children: Helen Mowry Capron, John Mowry Capon, Adin Mowry Capon and Almira Mowry Capron.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-05-01 *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capron, Adin Ballou 1841 births 1911 deaths People from Mendon, Massachusetts People from Smithfield, Rhode Island People from Providence County, Rhode Island Speakers of the Rhode Island House of Representatives People of Rhode Island in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Westbrook College alumni Union Army officers Burials at Swan Point Cemetery Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island 19th-century American politicians Military personnel from Massachusetts