Atterson Walden Rucker (April 3, 1847 – July 19, 1924) was an American lawyer, mining executive, and politician who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

from 1909 to 1913. He had previously served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Biography

Born in

Harrodsburg, Kentucky Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

, Rucker moved in early youth with his parents to

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He attended the common schools. He served four years in the

during the

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1868 and commenced practice in

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

, the following year. He moved to Baxter Springs, Kansas, in 1873 and resumed the practice of law. He moved to

Leadville, Colorado The City of Leadville is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorad ...

, in 1879 and continued the practice of his profession. He was also interested in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. He served as judge of the court of records of Lake County in 1881 and 1882. He moved to Aspen, Colorado, in 1885 and became largely interested in the development of mining projects.

Congress and retirement

Rucker was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-first and Sixty-second Congresses (March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1912. He returned to Colorado and settled in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he resumed his career in the mining business. He died near Mount Morrison, Colorado, on July 19, 1924. He was interred in the Littleton Cemetery,

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistica ...

References

Sources

Retrieved on 2009-03-02

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rucker, Atterson Walden 1847 births 1924 deaths People from Harrodsburg, Kentucky Colorado lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado Colorado state court judges People of Missouri in the American Civil War Confederate States Army soldiers People from Baxter Springs, Kansas 19th-century American lawyers