Alfred Ely was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. He was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Thirty-sixth

36th United States Congress

The Thirty-sixth 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, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...

 and Thirty-seventh

37th United States Congress

The Thirty-seventh 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, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...

 Congresses (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863), serving New York's 29th congressional district

New York's 29th congressional district

The Twenty-ninth district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives which covers a portion of the Appalachian mountains in New York known as the "Southern Tier." It is represented by Tom Reed...

.

Early life and political career

Born in Lyme, Connecticut

Lyme, Connecticut

Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,016 at the 2000 census. Lyme and its neighboring town Old Lyme are the namesake for Lyme disease.-Geography:...

, Ely attended the common schools and Bacon Academy

Bacon Academy

Bacon Academy is a public high school in Colchester, Connecticut, in the United States.In 1800 a prominent Colchester farmer, Pierpont Bacon, died and left an endowment of thirty-five thousand dollars . The endowment was to theThis established the academy that bears his name...

 at Colchester, Connecticut

Colchester, Connecticut

Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,551 at the 2000 census. In 2005 it was ranked 57th on the "100 Best Places to Live" in all of the United States, conducted by CNN...

. He moved to Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, in 1835. He studied law and was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1841. Ely commenced practice in Rochester.

Ely was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Thirty-sixth

36th United States Congress

The Thirty-sixth 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, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth...

 and Thirty-seventh

37th United States Congress

The Thirty-seventh 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, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...

 Congresses (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863). He served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions

United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions

The United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions is a former committee of the United States House of Representatives from 1831 to 1946.The committee was created on January 10, 1831 with jurisdiction over matters relating to pensions for disabled veterans. Originally, the jurisdiction of the...

 (Thirty-seventh Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862.

Civil war

While witnessing the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

, Congressman Ely was taken a prisoner by the Confederates and imprisoned in Libby Prison

Libby Prison

Libby Prison was a Confederate Prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It gained an infamous reputation for the harsh conditions under which prisoners from the Union Army were kept.- Overview :...

 of Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

; he was there for nearly six months along with many others. Among those captured was William H. Upham

William H. Upham

William Henry Upham was a soldier, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th Governor of Wisconsin.-Biography:Upham was born in Westminster, Massachusetts and moved to Racine, Wisconsin, in 1853...

 the future 18th Governor of Wisconsin who was a private in the Belle City Rifles of the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 2nd Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac.-Service:...

.

In December 1861, Ely was exchanged for Charles James Faulkner

Charles James Faulkner

Charles James Faulkner was a United States Senator from West Virginia and the son of Charles James Faulkner, a U.S. Representative from Virginia and West Virginia. Born on the family estate, "Boydville," near Martinsburg, Virginia , he accompanied his father, who was U.S...

, by the latter's own negotiations. At 5:00 AM on Christmas Day Ely was set free from Libby Prison

Libby Prison

Libby Prison was a Confederate Prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It gained an infamous reputation for the harsh conditions under which prisoners from the Union Army were kept.- Overview :...

. After Ely's release, D. Appleton & Company of New York published a journal of his experience in Libby Prison in 1862. Thereafter, he resumed the practice of law. He died in Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, May 18, 1892. He was interred in the Ely vault in Mount Hope Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester

Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, founded in 1838, is the United States' first municipal rural cemetery. Situated on 196 acres of land adjacent to the University of Rochester on Mount Hope Avenue, the cemetery is the permanent resting place of over 350,000 people...

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External links

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