William Adam Piper (May 21, 1826,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

– August 5, 1899,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

) was an American politician and a businessperson. He was a one-term member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1875 to 1877.

Biography

William Adam Piper was born on May 21, 1826, in

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Cha ...

. He attended the common schools and later moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, he served in Company A, Eighth Missouri Light Artillery, from June 8, 1846, to June 24, 1847. He moved to California in 1848 and settled in

in 1849, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. William Adam Piper 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

44th United States Congress The 44th 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, 1875, ...

. He received only 49.06% of the vote, the opposition being divided between Iva P. Rankin running as a Republican and the independent candidate John F. Swift. Piper served from March 4, 1875, until March 3, 1877. In 1876, he was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the

45th United States Congress The 45th 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, 1877, ...

. He continued his business activities, and he died on August 5, 1899, in San Francisco, California. He was interred in Odd Fellows Cemetery in San Francisco, California and re-interred at

Greenlawn Memorial Park Greenlawn may refer to: * Greenlawn, Missouri * Greenlawn, New York * Greenlawn (Middletown, Delaware), a historic house * Greenlawn (Amite City, Louisiana), a historic mansion * Greenlawn Ltd., a Canadian lawn services company that does busines ...

in Colma, California.

References

Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California 1826 births 1899 deaths Burials at Odd Fellows Cemetery (San Francisco, California) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{California-Representative-stub