Aylett R. Cotton
(November 29, 1826 — October 30, 1912) Cotton was a teacher, lawyer, businessman, and politician. Aylett Rains Cotton was born in Austintown, Ohio in 1826. After graduating from the Cottage Hill Academy in Ellsworth, Ohio, he taught school until moving to Iowa with his father. There he continued to teach school and study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1848 and practiced law in Clinton County, Iowa. In 1849, he moved to California to mine for gold and returned to Iowa two years later. He served as county judge in Clinton County (1851-1853), member of the State constitutional convention (1857), and member of the State House of Representatives (1868-1870). Cotton was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives and served from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1875.
[Source: “Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present,” available at https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C000801]
Member of
Iowa Delegation - The Civil Rights Act of 1875
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