Walter A. Burleigh

Walter Atwood Burleigh ( born October 25, 1820 Waterville, Maine; † March 7, 1896 in Yankton, South Dakota ) was an American politician. Between 1865 and 1869 he represented as a delegate the Dakota Territory in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early years

Walter Burleigh attended the public schools of his home. In 1839 he took part as a soldier in the Aroostook War. He then studied in Burlington (Vermont ) and New York City medical. After his successful graduation, he began working as a doctor first in Richmond ( Maine) and after moving in Kittanning (Pennsylvania). At that time he also began to study law. Around the year 1861 he moved to the Dakota Territory, where he worked as an Indian commissioner in today's Tripp County ( South Dakota).

Burleigh in Congress

Burleigh was a member of the Republican Party. In the congressional elections of 1864 he was elected against the incumbent John Blair Smith Todd of the Democratic Party as a delegate to Congress. There he graduated between 4 March 1865 and the March 3, 1869 two legislative sessions. For the 1868 elections, he was not nominated and his mandate was to Solomon L. Spink.

Further CV

After his return from the federal capital, Washington to Burleigh initially devoted to his private interests. In 1877 he was a member of the territorial government of the Dakota Territory. In 1879 he moved to Miles City, Montana, where he practiced as a lawyer. In 1887 he was a member of the local territorial government council and 1889 he was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Montana. After that, he was a member of the first session of the House of Representatives from Montana. From 1889 to 1890 he was district attorney in Custer County. He then returned to South Dakota, where he was a member of the State Senate. He also worked as a lawyer. Walter Burleigh died in 1896 in Yankton. The Burleigh County, North Dakota was named after him.