Aylett Rains COTTON, Congress, IA (1826-1912)

COTTON, Aylett Rains, a Representative from Iowa; born in Austintown, Ohio, November 29, 1826; attended the local public schools and Cottage Hill Academy, Ellsworth, Ohio, in 1842 and 1843; taught school; moved to Iowa with his father, who settled near Dewitt, Clinton County, in 1844; attended Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa., in 1845; taught school at Union Academy, Fayette County, Tenn., 1845-1847; returned to Iowa in 1847; studied law; was admitted to the Clinton County bar in 1848 and practiced; went to California in 1849 and engaged in mining on the Feather River; returned to Iowa in 1851 and settled in Lyons; county judge of Clinton County 1851-1853; prosecuting attorney of Clinton County in 1854; mayor of Lyons 1855-1857; member of the State constitutional convention in 1857; member of the State house of representatives 1868-1870, and served as speaker during the last term; elected as a Republican to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1875); was not a candidate for renomination in 1874; returned to California in 1883 and engaged in the practice of law in San Francisco, Calif., where he died October 30, 1912; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, San Mateo County, Calif.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present