JOHN A. KASSON
By the census of 1860, Iowa was, by a new apportionment act passed in 1862, entitled to six representatives in Congress, and the State was re-districted, and Cass county placed in the fifth district. At the October election of 1862, John A. Kasson was elected to represent the section of the State embraced in that district, and served in the Thirty-eighth and Thirty-ninth Congresses. He was a native of Vermont, having been born in that State in the town of Charlotte, on the east side of Lake Champlain, January 11, 1822. His life is an exhibition of energy and self-reliance triumphing over adverse circumstances, scarcely paralleled even in the west, the land of self-made men. His father dying when John was but six years of age, the young statesman was early in life brought face to face with the world, and his struggles commenced from that tender age. He received his primary education at the common schools of his native place, and, after considerable preparation, entered the State University in 1838, and graduated with high honors - the second in his class - in 1842. His chosen profession was the law, and for this he had prepared himself, and on leaving his "alma mater" he entered the office of Charles D. Kasson, a brother, who was at that time a distinguished member of the bar of Burlington, Vermont; but for want of means he was forced to relinquish his studies for a time, seeking the position of a teacher in Virginia. Here being brought into contact with that "peculiar institution" of the Southern States, slavery, he imbibed that repugnance for it that has given the tone to his political life, and made him such a strong advocate for its suppression that he became one of the principal leaders in the anti-slavery movement. On his return from Virginia, he resumed the study of law at Worcester, Massachusetts, in the office of Hon. Emery Washburn, afterward governor of the "Old Bay State." Here young Kasson struggled hard against a contrary fate and pecuniary embarrassments, which he met with his characteristic energy and triumphed over signally, and was finally admitted to the bar at Lowell, in the state of Massachusetts, at, perhaps, the most difficult bar within the jurisdiction of the Union.
After his admission he went to New Bedford, where, after a year spent in the law office of Timothy Coffin, he entered into partnership with Thomas D. Elliott, with whom he remained five years, when, seeking fresher fields, he came West. He spent one year in St. Louis in the office of Hon. Jos. Crockett, when he opened an office for himself, and gained a large and lucrative practice. In 1857, the climate of St. Louis proving detrimental to his health, be removed to Des Moines, where attention to business, sagacity and talent soon gained him the reputation of a first-class lawyer, and a large practice. In 1858 he was appointed chairman of the newly-formed Republican State central committee, and won golden opinions for his able organization of that party. In 1861 he was appointed assistant postmaster-general, a position he had neither solicited or expected. He held this place for two years, and not only found time to fulfill all the multifarious duties of the office, but revised all the various postal laws and codified the same. In 1862 he was elected a member of the thirty-eight Congress, and has served several terms, to the eminent satisfaction of his friends and constituents, winning applause even from political antagonists. He is fluent in debate, strongly logical, and one of the few gifted men of Iowa who have established a national reputation as able statesmen and deep thinkers.
Contributed by Lisa Varnes-Rex from "History of Cass County, Iowa. Together With Sketches of its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens." Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Company, 1884, pg. 342-343.
