Beriah Wilkins 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 Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

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Biography

Born near Richwood, Ohio

Richwood, Ohio

Richwood is a village in Claibourne Township, Union County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,156 at the 2000 census.-History:The town of Richwood was laid out in 1832, by Philip Plummer. In 1834, road work was completed, and all the roads going into the town were gravelled...

, Wilkins attended the common schools of Marysville, Ohio

Marysville, Ohio

Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States. The population was 15,942 at the 2000 census, and the Census Bureau estimated that it had risen to 17,621 by 2006.Marysville's longtime slogan is "Where the Grass is Greener"...

. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, he enlisted as a private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

 in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, May 2, 1864, and served until honorably discharged August 31, 1864. He then engaged in banking in Uhrichsville, Ohio

Uhrichsville, Ohio

Uhrichsville is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,662 at the 2000 census. Claymont City School District is the major education provider for the city of Uhrichsville and for the village of Dennison, Ohio...

. He was a member of the Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate

The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...

 1880 and 1881, and served as member of the Democratic State central committee in 1882.

Wilkins was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Forty-eighth

48th United States Congress

The Forty-eighth 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, 1883 to March 4, 1885, during the last two years...

, Forty-ninth

49th United States Congress

The Forty-ninth 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, 1885 to March 4, 1887, during the first two years...

, and Fiftieth

50th United States Congress

The Fiftieth 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, 1887 to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth...

 Congresses (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1889). He served as chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency (Fiftieth Congress).

After his congressional service, Wilkins settled in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He became majority owner and publisher of the Washington Post in 1889, and later, in 1894, acquired the entire stock

Stock

The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

 ownership of the paper, serving as editor until his death in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, June 7, 1905. He was interred in Rock Creek Cemetery

Rock Creek Cemetery

Rock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE in Washington, D.C.'s Michigan Park neighborhood, near Washington's Petworth neighborhood...

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