author
George C. (George Congdon) Gorham
1832–1909
A newspaperman, political insider, and biographer of the Civil War era, this 19th-century writer moved from Gold Rush California journalism into national public life. He is best remembered in print for his substantial two-volume life of Edwin M. Stanton and other works shaped by firsthand experience in politics.
1 Audiobook
Personal reminiscences of early days in California, with other sketches : to which is added the story of his attempted assassination by a former associate on the supreme bench of the state
by Stephen J. (Stephen Johnson) Field, George C. (George Congdon) Gorham
About the author
Born in Greenport, New York, on July 5, 1832, he went to California as a teenager during the Gold Rush years and built an early career in journalism. Over time he became known not just as a newspaper editor and author, but also as an active Republican figure in California politics.
His public career reached a national stage when he served as Secretary of the United States Senate from 1868 to 1879, during much of the Reconstruction era. He also edited the National Republican, a Washington paper closely connected to Republican politics, giving him an unusually direct view of the people and arguments that shaped post-Civil War government.
After leaving newspaper work, he devoted much of his later life to writing. His best-known book is the two-volume Life and Public Services of Edwin M. Stanton, a detailed biography of Lincoln's secretary of war, and he also wrote on early California history. He died in Washington, D.C., on February 11, 1909.