Joseph Lyman (September 13, 1840 – July 9, 1890) was a

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 polic ...

soldier, lawyer, and judge. In the 1880s, he was a two-term Republican

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

Iowa's 9th congressional district Iowa's 9th congressional district existed from 1873 to 1943. The district was configured four times, first as part of a nine-district plan, then twice in eleven-district plans, then again in a nine-district plan. In the nine-district plans, th ...

in southwestern Iowa.

Biography

Lyman was born in

Lyons, Michigan Lyons is a village in Ionia County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 789 at the 2010 census. Most of the village is within Lyons Township. A small portion extends west into Ionia Township. Geography According to the United S ...

, in

Ionia County Ionia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,804. The county seat is Ionia. The Ionia County Courthouse was designed by Claire Allen, a prominent southern Michigan architect. ...

. After he attended the common schools in Ohio, he moved to Big Grove (later named

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

), Iowa, in 1857. He then attended Iowa College (later named

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalism in the United States, Congrega ...

), in

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who were ...

. After the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Lyman enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. He initially served in Company E of the

4th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry The 4th Iowa Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 4th Iowa Cavalry was organized at Camp Harlan in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, beginning in September 1861, and mustered in for ...

. He later served as an adjutant of the

29th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 29th Iowa Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 29th Iowa Infantry was organized at Council Bluffs, Iowa and mustered in for three years of Federal service on Dec ...

, from October 19, 1862, to February 21, 1865, including service during 1864 as aide de camp and Inspector General on the staff of Brig. Gen. Samuel Allen Rice."Obituary," New York Times, 1890-07-10 at p. 5. He was a major of the same regiment and aide de camp and acting assistant adjutant general on the staff of Maj. Gen.

Frederick Steele Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arka ...

from February 21, 1865, to August 10, 1865. After the war, he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1866, and commenced practice in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

. He initially served as deputy collector of internal revenue of the fifth district of Iowa, from 1867 to 1870. Later in his legal career, he became a judge of the circuit court in 1884. In 1884, he was elected as a Republican to the

United States House of Representatives 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 the ...

from Iowa's 9th congressional district, and served in the

Forty-ninth U.S. Congress The 49th 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, 18 ...

. Two years later, he was re-elected to a second term (in the Fiftieth U.S. Congress). However, he declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1888. In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1889. Lyman resumed the practice of law in Council Bluffs, where he died of paralysis, after a long period of sickness. He was interred in Fairview Cemetery.

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-20

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyman, Joseph 1840 births 1890 deaths People from Ionia County, Michigan Politicians from Council Bluffs, Iowa Union Army officers Iowa lawyers Iowa state court judges Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Michigan Military personnel from Iowa Grinnell College alumni