Legrand (or ''Le Grand'') Winfield Perce (June 19, 1836 – March 16, 1911) was 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

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. Born 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 ...

, Perce completed preparatory studies. He attended

Genesee College Genesee College was founded as the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, in 1831, by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The college was located in Lima, New York, and eventually relocated to Syracuse, becoming Syracuse University. Genesee Wesleyan Seminary ...

Lima, New York Lima (, the name is a shibboleth) is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,305 at the 2010 census. The town is in the northeast part of the county, south of Rochester. The village of Lima is located within ...

, and was graduated from the

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...

in 1857. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in

. In 1859 he travelled to St. Louis, Missouri intending to live there, but he decided that, due to his anti-slavery views, he could never live in a slave state and instead settled in Chicago, Illinois. At the outbreak of 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 polic ...

, he volunteered his services to Governor Yates of Illinois and served for 4 months on General

Prentiss Prentiss may refer to: People Given name * Prentiss Barnes (1925–2006), U.S. singer * Prentiss M. Brown (1889–1973), Michigan politician * Robert Prentiss Daniel (1902–1968), U.S. academic * Prentiss Douglass (1884–1949), U.S. American fo ...

' staff in Cairo, Illinois, with the rank of captain.Pierce Genealogy
/ref> In August 1861 he accepted an offer to join the Sixth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank of captain in June 1862. He was appointed captain in the United States Volunteers in August 1863 and was brevetted lieutenant colonel and colonel in 1865. He settled in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...

. He was appointed register in bankruptcy in June 1867. Upon readmission of the State of Mississippi to representation, Perce was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

to the Forty-first Congress. He was reelected to the Forty-second Congress and served from February 23, 1870, to March 3, 1873. He served as chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor (Forty-second Congress). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1872. He engaged in the practice of law and also in the real estate business at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, where he died March 16, 1911. He was interred in

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is an American garden cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. According to legend, the name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the a ...

References

External resources

*''Memorials of Deceased Companions of the Commandery of the State of Illinois'', Chicago, 1912, p. 639-44. {{DEFAULTSORT:Perce, Legrand Winfield 1836 births 1911 deaths Burials at Rosehill Cemetery Union Army colonels Albany Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi 19th-century American politicians