Charles Upson (March 19, 1821 – September 5, 1885) was a politician from the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Upson was born in

Southington, Connecticut Southington ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Mil ...

, to Lydia (Webster) Upson (1781–1861) and Asahel Upson (1783–1867). He attended the district and select schools of Southington and later taught school in Farmington from 1840 to 1842. He married Sophia Upham on August 4, 1852. Upson studied law at the

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1844 and moved to Constantine, Michigan the following year. He taught school in 1846 and 1847 and became deputy county clerk of St. Joseph County in 1847. He was admitted to the bar in 1847 and commenced practice in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. He served as county clerk from 1848 to 1849 and

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

from 1852 to 1854. He was a member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

( 17th District) from 1855 to 1856. He moved to

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in and county seat of Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city had a population of 13,822 at the 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Coldwater Township, but the two are administered autonomously. H ...

in 1856 and continued the practice of law. He was a member of the State board of railroad commissioners in 1857 and served as

Michigan Attorney General The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor of Michigan, governor, Lieutenant Governor of ...

from 1861 to 1862. In 1862 was elected as a Republican from

Michigan's 2nd congressional district Michigan's 2nd congressional district is a United States congressional district in Western Michigan. The current 2nd district contains much of Michigan's 4th congressional district, Michigan's old 4th congressional district, and includes all of ...

to the

38th United States Congress The 38th 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, 1863, ...

and was re-elected to the 39th and 40th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1869. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Fortieth Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868. In 1869, Upson was appointed judge of the Michigan fifteenth circuit court, serving until his resignation on December 31, 1872. He was a member of the commission to revise the State constitution in 1873. In 1876, he declined appointment as

Commissioner of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. He served as mayor of the city of Coldwater in 1877. He was again a member of the

( 10th District) serving from 1881 to 1882 and resumed the practice of his profession. Charles Upson died in Coldwater and was interred in Oak Grove Cemetery.

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upson, Charles 1821 births 1885 deaths People from Southington, Connecticut Yale Law School alumni Michigan lawyers Michigan state court judges Republican Party Michigan state senators Michigan attorneys general Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan People from Constantine, Michigan Mayors of places in Michigan People from Coldwater, Michigan 19th-century Michigan state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Michigan Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives