James Gunn (congressman)

James Gunn ( born March 6, 1843 County Fermanagh, Ireland, † November 5, 1911 in Boise, Idaho ) was an American politician. Between 1897 and 1899 he represented the state of Idaho in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early years and career

Even in childhood left James Gunn with his parents Ireland. The family settled in Wisconsin, where James attended the public schools. He then studied at Notre Dame Academy in Indiana, after which he worked as a teacher for some time and studied law, but without ever working as a lawyer. During the Civil War, Gunn served from 1862 in the Union army, in which he brought it up to the captain. In 1866 he moved to the Colorado Territory, where he remained for nine years. During this time he was three years mayor of the city of Georgetown. In 1875, he moved to Virginia City in Nevada. About California James Gunn came in 1881 in the Idaho Territory.

Political career

James Gunn was a member of the Populist Party, which was the end of the 19th century for several decades and later merged with the Democratic Party. He was in 1890 a member of the first Senate of Idaho as well as a delegate of his country on the Trans-Mississippi Congress in Denver. Between 1892 and 1897 he published the newspaper " Boise Sentinel".

In the years 1892 and 1894 James Gunn ran unsuccessfully for each U.S. House of Representatives. In the congressional elections of 1896 he was elected to that chamber of parliament, where he replaced Edgar Wilson on March 4, 1897. But Gunn was able to complete only one term in Congress. In the next elections in 1898, he lost to Wilson, who thus regained his old seat.

After the end of his time in Congress, James Gunn retired from politics. Between 1901 and 1903 he led another Soldiers' Home (Idaho Soldier's Home).