Jacob Hale Sypher was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. He served four terms as a Republican.

Sypher was born near Millerstown, Pennsylvania

Millerstown, Pennsylvania

Millerstown is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 679 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

. He graduated from Alfred University

Alfred University

Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...

 in 1859. He enlisted in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the 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...

 and would eventually become colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 of the Eleventh United States Colored Heavy Artillery, where he led African-Americans who were fighting the war to secure freedom for themselves and their families. After the war he bought a plantation in northern Louisiana. This was not to his liking so he then moved to New Orleans and studied law there. After a short period of time he was admitted to the Bar of the state of Louisiana. He was first elected to congress in 1866. He may have lost the 1868 election, but there were so many irregularities that congress threw it out and he won the second round. When he was replaced by Effingham Lawrence

Effingham Lawrence

Effingham Lawrence was a Democratic Party member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana. He served one day, the last day of the session of the 43rd United States Congress , the shortest term of any member of the U.S...

 in 1875 it was the first time a democrat had been seated in congress from Louisiana since before the Civil War. This was the beginning of the end of the Reconstruction in Louisiana. He then moved to Washington, DC, to practice law. He died in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

.

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