{{Short description|American politician (1808–1871)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Cyrus Aldrich | image = Cyrus Aldrich (Minnesota Congressman).jpg | alt = | caption = Aldrich in an 1899 publication | order = | office = | term_start = | term_end = | alongside = | predecessor = | successor = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1808|6|18}} | birth_place = Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1871|10|5|1808|6|18}} | death_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | resting_place = Lakewood Cemetery | party = Republican | spouse = {{marriage|Clara A. Heaton|1845}} | children = 4 | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | signature = }} '''Cyrus Aldrich''' (June 18, 1808 – October 5, 1871) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Minnesota.
==Early life== Cyrus Aldrich was born on June 18, 1808, in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He attended common schools.<ref name="bio">{{Cite web |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/A000081 |title=Aldrich, Cyrus |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |access-date=2025-08-21}}</ref>
==Career== Aldrich worked as a sailor, boatman, farmer, contractor on public works, and mail contractor, before moving to Illinois and settling in Alton in 1837.<ref name="bio"/> In Alton, he was member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1845 to 1847. He served as register of deeds of Jo Daviess County from 1847 to 1849.<ref name="bio"/>
Aldrich moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1855 and engaged in the lumber business, and was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh congresses (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863) where he was chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs (Thirty-seventh Congress).<ref name="bio"/> Aldrich was not a candidate for renomination in 1862; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1863 to the United States Senate. He became a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1865 and he was elected chairman of the board of supervisors of the town of Minneapolis in 1865.<ref name="bio"/> He was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 as one of the commissioners to examine claims for indemnity of those who had suffered from the Dakota War of 1862.<ref name="bio"/> He was postmaster of Minneapolis from September 11, 1867, to April 15, 1871, when a successor was appointed.<ref name="bio"/>
==Personal life== Aldrich married Clara A. Heaton in 1845. The best man was Elihu B. Washburne. They had three daughters and one son, Henry C.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-pioneer-of-minneapolis-expi/179375759/ |title=Pioneer of Minneapolis Expires at Advanced Age |date=1912-08-23 |newspaper=The Minneapolis Morning Tribune |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2025-08-21}}{{Open access}}</ref>{{citation needed |date=August 2025 |reason=daughters}}
Aldrich died on October 5, 1871, in Minneapolis. He was buried in Lakewood Cemetery.<ref name="bio"/>
==Legacy== Aldrich is the namesake of the city of Aldrich, Minnesota.<ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n577 560]}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} *[http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=12249 Minnesota Legislators Past and Present]
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Minnesota | district = AL | years = March 3, 1859 – March 3, 1863 | before = William Wallace Phelps and James M. Cavanaugh | alongside = William Windom | after = District eliminated }} {{s-end}}
{{MNRepresentatives}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, Cyrus}} Category:1808 births Category:1871 deaths Category:People from Smithfield, Rhode Island Category:Politicians from Providence County, Rhode Island Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Minnesota Category:Minnesota postmasters Category:Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Category:Politicians from Alton, Illinois Category:Businesspeople from Minneapolis Category:Politicians from Minneapolis Category:Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly Category:19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature