Ephraim Ralph Eckley (December 9, 1811 – March 27, 1908) was an American Civil War veteran and three-term U.S. Representative from Ohio, serving from 1863 to 1869.

Ephraim Ralph Eckley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 17th district
In office
March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869
Preceded byJames R. Morris
Succeeded byJacob A. Ambler
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the Jefferson & Carroll counties district
In office
December 4, 1843 – December 5, 1847
Preceded byJames Mitchell
Succeeded byAlden J. Bennett
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the Tuscarawas & Carroll counties district
In office
December 3, 1849 – January 4, 1852
Preceded byAlden J. Bennett
Succeeded bydistrict eliminated
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the Carroll County district
In office
January 2, 1854 – January 6, 1856
Preceded byRobert George
Succeeded bySilas Potts
Personal details
Born(1811-12-09)December 9, 1811
Mount Pleasant, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 1908(1908-03-27) (aged 96)
Carrollton, Ohio, U.S.
Resting placeGrand View Cemetery
Carrollton, Ohio, U.S.
40°34′09″N 81°04′55″W / 40.56917°N 81.08194°W / 40.56917; -81.08194
Political partyRepublican
Whig
SpouseMartha L. Brown
Children5, including Harvey J.
Alma materVermillion Institute
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnion Army
Years of service1861-1863
RankColonel
Unit26th Ohio Infantry
80th Ohio Infantry[1]

Early life

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Eckley was born near Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio, but moved with his parents to Hayesville, Ohio, in 1816.

He attended the common schools and was graduated from Vermillion Institute, Hayesville, Ohio. He moved to Carrollton, Ohio, in 1833 and taught school.

He studied law under William Johnston[2] and was admitted to the bar in 1836; he commenced practice in Carrollton.

He served as member of the State senate 1843-1846, 1849, and 1850 but was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio in 1851. He also served in the State house of representatives 1853-1855 but was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1853 to the United States Senate.

He served as delegate to the first Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in 1856.

Civil War

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During the Civil War, Eckley served in the Union Army as the colonel of the 26th Ohio Infantry, and later of the 80th Ohio Infantry.[3]

Postbellum

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Eckley was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Congresses (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869) but was not a candidate for renomination in 1868.

He resumed the practice of law in Carrollton, Ohio. He died March 27, 1908, in Carrollton, Ohio, and was interred in Grand View Cemetery.

He married Martha L. Brown and had five children, including Harvey J. His son Harvey was an Ohio state senator and judge.[4][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Reid, p. 182, 458.
  2. ^ Harrison and Carroll, p. 785.
  3. ^ The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Eckley was "brevetted brigadier general." No source supports this. The definitive source, United States War Department, The Military Secretary's Office, Memorandum Relative to the General Officers in the Armies of the United States During the Civil War, 1861–1865 (Compiled from Official Records.) 1906 does not list Eckley as a brevet or actual rank general. None of the reliable modern historians who have books compiling lists of and brief bios of Union generals, Hunt and Brown, Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990. ISBN 978-1-56013-002-4, Warner, Eicher and Eicher and Sifakis list him as a brevet general.
  4. ^ Eckley, H.J.; Perry, W.T. (1921). History of Carroll and Harrison Counties. Vol. 1. The Lewis Publishing Co. p. 62.
  5. ^ H. J. Eckley; William T. Perry, eds. (1921). History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio. Vol. 2. pp. 1032–1033. Retrieved August 7, 2023.

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 17th congressional district

March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1869
Succeeded by