George Cookman STURGISS, Congress, WV (1842-1925)

STURGISS, George Cookman, a Representative from West Virginia; born in Poland, Mahoning County, Ohio, August 16, 1842; attended country schools; moved to Morgantown, Va. (now West Virginia), in 1859; attended Monongalia Academy, Morgantown, W.Va., and taught in that school for a short time; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1863 and commenced practice at Morgantown; during the Civil War served as a clerk under Maj. James V. Boughner, paymaster of United States Volunteers; county superintendent of free schools 1865-1869; member of the West Virginia house of delegates 1870-1872; prosecuting attorney of the county 1872-1880; Republican nominee for Governor of the State in 1880; appointed by President Harrison as United States attorney for the district of West Virginia in 1889 and served four years; first president of the State board of trade and of the State association for the promotion of good roads; elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses (March 4, 1907-March 3, 1911); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910 to the Sixty-second Congress; trustee of American University, Washington, D.C.; was instrumental in the construction of the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad; judge of the circuit court 1912-1920; engaged in the practice of law at Morgantown, Monongalia County, W.Va., until his death on February 26, 1925; interment in Oak Grove Cemetery.

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