Charles Norton Felton (January 1, 1832September 13, 1914) was an American banker and politician who served as a Congressman (1885 to 1889) and U.S. Senator (1891 to 1893) from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the late 19th Century, in addition to co-founding the progenitor of the Chevron Corporation.

Biography

Charles Felton was born on January 1, 1832, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. He attended and received his education from Syracuse Academy before studying law and being admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

; however, he never entered practice. Felton moved to

in 1849 and entered the mercantile business and subsequently

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

. In 1853, he became sheriff of

Yuba County, California Yuba County (; Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 81,575. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City, California Metropolitan Statistical ...

. Felton served as a

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern wo ...

before being appointed as treasurer of the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. From 1868 to 1877, he served as Assistant Treasurer of the United States. Felton also served in the California State Assembly from 1878 to 1882. In 1884, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican for the 49th Congress. He subsequently won reelection to his seat in 1886 for the

50th Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887, ...

. He did not seek election to a third term in the U.S. House in 1888; he served from March 1885 to March 1889. Felton was elected to the United States Senate in 1891 to represent California to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

George Hearst George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, miner, and politician. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations, and is known for developing and expanding the Hom ...

, serving from March 19, 1891, to March 3, 1893. He did not seek reelection. Upon retiring from the U.S. Senate, Felton served as a state prison director from 1903 to 1907. He died at his home in

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south ...

, on September 13, 1914. Felton was interred in Cypress Lawn Cemetery in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924. ...

. The town of

Felton, California Felton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,489 as of 2020 census and according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. History Named ...

was named after him.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Charles Norton 1832 births 1914 deaths Republican Party United States senators from California People from Menlo Park, California Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California 19th-century American politicians Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park